Strongest
by Illuminet
Summary: [WI]Although he has restored his Netherworld, Overlord Zetta has been unable to regain his original body, and may forever remain as the Sacred Tome...
1. The Fiercest Devil

Strongest

Chapter 1: The Fiercest Devil

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

Cold. That was the only sensation he felt. Only blackness greeted his vision. Silence reigned all around him. He was confused, to say the least.

'Why is it so cold here...being the book has blunted most of my senses, so why do I feel this immense cold? What the hell is going on with me!'

His eyes opened of their own accord, and he was now greeted with the flickering stars scattered throughout an area of the Universe.

'Huh...? How did I get all the way out here? Eh? I can't move! What the hell!'

He tried to move in order to discern his location, but nothing happened, much to his annoyance.

'Dammit! Not only can I not move, but my mouth isn't even working...what's happening to me...?'

All he seemed to be able to do freely now was think.

'Move, stupid book body of mine. Move I say! Dammit! MOVE!'

He roared violently in his mind. Something finally did move. His head lowered, and what he saw shocked him.

'I...I have arms...and legs...these familiar clothes...! I...I'm back in my real body! YES!'

He shouted triumphantly in his head upon seeing his arms crossed over his broad chest. His excitement was short lived, as his head would move no more, and he still could not talk.

'I see why I'm so cold now. I was in my original body this entire time and I didn't even realize it...having been that damn book made me forget these sensations. Onto other matters...Why can't I move my body? Dammit! Don't tell me I've been the Sacred Tome so long I can't even remember how to make the body I was born with function properly. The magnificent body of the most Bad-Ass Overlord, Zetta! Crap...Alex would die laughing if he knew I was in this predicament...I've got to get this body of mine moving, pronto. Come on...MOVE!'

He commanded his body, but no matter how willing the mind was, the body would not react. Finally, his left index finger began to move of it's own accord, tapping against the biceps of his right arm, as if in a gesture of impatient waiting while his body remained in it's pondering position.

'That wasn't what I wanted to move! My arm, dammit! Move my entire arm!'

Nothing happened. His body stayed as it was, no longer moving an inch.

'Argh! No good...nothing I think up is getting any physical reaction...'

He said to himself irritably. He began thinking deeply, as that was all he was able to do in the first place.

'Wait a minute...what gives? Why am I now in my original body in the first place? I mean, Trenia even predicted I wouldn't get my body back even after going through all that trouble of reconstructing my Netherworld back to it's former glory in the first place. And that really sucked because I thought I was gonna die as the Sacred Tome due to that stupid curse. The only reasonable explanation we all surmised finally was that the old corn guy I shot down was actually just a fake. Stupid gramps Babylon had me worrying over nothing! I should have known he'd gone off the deep end in his old age. Anyway...I need to think of what to do to get out of here because this doesn't look like my personal space.'

He concluded, beginning to rack his brain for any ideas on how to move. Seeing as he couldn't do much, he focused as hard as he could to try and move each and every joint of his body one by one, but was left with the same result of immobility.

'Not a thing... screw it, maybe I'll try telepathy... okay let's see, I'll call...Salome! Hey, Salome! I need you help. Wait...why do I want to converse with Salome? Damn, I might be giving her the wrong impression if I ask for her help now. It's not like I share any feelings for her...much, anyway...No! I've been that damn book for far too long if I'm thinking like a softie in my original body. Dammit Zetta, keep it together...your better than this, remember? Hopefully she didn't hear that. Okay...so now what? Salome's the only Overlord I really trust, but I can't contact her...man, this really bites! Should I just swallow my pride and ask her? No way, can't do it. I'm a Demon. More importantly, an Overlord, a celebrity of the highest caliber and public idol. What kind of message would I send children if I showed such signs of weakness? Asking for help...and not just any help, but help from someone I lo...like! Like, dammit! I'd have killed myself if I even thought up that other four letter L-word...there's no way in hell I can promote such an act...damn, Salome...just thinking of her makes my behavior go all out of whack lately. She's just a former apprentice and nothing more, but...Gah! Focus Zetta! There must be something else I can do...'

His thoughts seem to always linger towards his former apprentice ever since she returned into his life to help in the rebuilding of his Netherworld. Though, such information was better kept tucked away in the deepest recesses of his brain. He was pretty well aware of her feelings for him now..heck, she had given him her own Mana power to make him the strongest at the cost of her own life, according to Demon Overlord Seedle. He himself had just been too wrapped up in his own power to take notice, much to his chagrin. If he had still been the astute and perceptive Demon of his youth and teenage years, years too long than he wished to remember, he might have been able to catch on to what Salome was doing for him. Even when she had been revived, his Demon nature was too proud to say the words -thank you-, much less those small three words of which he knew she wanted to hear.

'This is an even worse torment compared to being in the Sacred Tome...being part of my original body again, but completely paralyzed...and to top it all off, I'm freezing my ass off out here...'

His thoughts were interrupted when someone called out to him.

"Lord Zetta, there you are, dood. We can leave at anytime, dood."

It didn't take an expert to realize that was the speech pattern of the small Netherworld dwellers, Prinnies. One question did come to Zetta's mind, however.

'Since when have I had any Prinny vassals before?'

To his even greater surprise, his head turned around slightly to spare a half glance at the small creature's direction for a few moments. His head curtly nodded before his body fully turned around, walking past the Prinny without another glance and no words exchanged.

'I'm moving now, but...it's not by my own accord...'

His body moved towards an illusive structure in the distance, and then his vision became blurry.

'Why can't I see anything now? The cold is being numbed...I'm fading?'

He was now frantically trying to hold onto any form of consciousness, but everything was melding together into complete blackness across his gaze.

'No...my body...am I losing it again...? NO! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!'

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room

:MK:CST:

"I WANT MY BODY BACK!"

He fell with a thud. He was looking up at the high ceiling of his familiar throne room.

"I'm still the Sacred Tome...then it was only a dream...a really long dream. Or maybe a really long nightmare."

He told himself as he lifted off the ground to hover in the air. He closed his eyes and took a few calming deep breaths.

'That was the first time I've felt truly alive since confining to the Sacred Tome...but why couldn't I move about, and who was that Prinny? More importantly, what was that structure we were heading towards...?'

He mulled the idea around in his head, before sighing.

"Zetta, your losing it. It was just a dream. The most strangely vivid feeling dream to be sure, but a dream none the less. I'm reading to deep into this when I should continue catching up on some much needed sleep while I still can, dammit!"

With that, he plopped himself back onto his throne. In most cases he'd already be passed out, snoring loudly, but this time rest eluded him, and he was still awake propped on his throne.

"If only that hadn't been a dream and I could move again...damn you Pram...turning out to be a false Oracle and leading me on as your plaything! Because of you, my body's never going to be restored...I don't care if you have admitted you were at fault, or if you revived Salome and her Netherworld...your status and Mana have already been regained while I'm still stuck as the Sacred Tome. Damn you..."

Before he could go on with his tirade, his castle began to rumble slightly. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"This powerful Mana...ahh crap, it better not be Alex wanting to go through a duel. It's too early in the morning for that shit..."

He sighed irritably. It wasn't his so called arch nemesis, however, and that was easily seen because the teleportation method was devoid of any use of lightning, something Alex was known for. Instead it was...

'Wait a minute...this technique belongs to...'

The soft, feminine voice that halted his thoughts was instantly recognizable.

"Zetta."

Salome stood before him now, after the light dispersed like falling feathers. Dressed in only a black tight fitting night gown that left little to the imagination. His eyes bulged out in surprise.

"S...Salome? Why are you here?"

-ToBeContinued-

Note: Starts out pretty sluggishly, I know. I still haven't fully fleshed out the ideas, but hopefully the story will progress fairly well. Only real problem I have with this thing is that it's overall plot seems a little too close to my Disgaea story, "The White Flower" for my liking. I guess that can be perceived as a good thing in some sense, but on the same token, I don't want to rely too much on past successes and make this story seem too alike. Hopefully the plot will separate enough to make an interesting and different enough story as the chapters progress further...


	2. Maternal Salome

Strongest

Chapter 2: Maternal Salome

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of character from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Highest Spire

:MK:CST:

'The future...something is blocking my visions...or someone...'

The little girl with the long green hair shaped like wings at the end pondered to herself. She was dressed in a two piece set of blue pajamas, and a matching pair of slippers fashioned like Prinny heads (Made from genuine Prinny skin, too!). It had already been about a month since Trenia had taken up residence with Zetta in his castle. The public found this to be a curious thing at first, because why would Zetta have little girls live with him in his castle? Underage bondage fetish, maybe? He was still a book, but he had his ways of doing things if they so pleased him. Zetta had mostly swayed their judgement by saying he had gone across many a world to find a true Oracle after Pram's confession, and Trenia was the one to fill that role. She had even given out a few predictions that proved to be true, ending any scepticism. Right now, the all-knowing girl felt worried, which was quite uncommon for her. It didn't have to do with the fact that she couldn't predict the future right now either. It was more because of the presence that might be behind it.

'This sense of unease that clenches my heart...it's coming...but what is -it-, exactly? The flow of Mana is distorted, blocking all my senses from finding out what is happening with the Universe. Could this be...unfortunately, there's no way for me to find out...all I can do is wait, and hope...'

She clasped her hands together in small prayer.

'...I should also warn Zetta about this. He may be able to help.'

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room

:MK:CST:

Salome tilted her head slightly, showing an expression of confusion.

"You summoned me over here by telepathy, remember? You said you needed my help for something, and when I tried to contact you in order to find out more details, you didn't answer, so after a few failed attempts at that, I simply decided to come over as fast as I could. So...what happened that requires my assistance?"

She asked after giving him her explanation. He quirked an eye brow in confusion of his own.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He asked her, perplexed, but then things finally donned on him.

'Wait a minute...DAMN! I did call her by telepathy...in my stupid dream. Then she really did hear it...this is bad...what if word get's out that we're together like this? And at four o' clock in the morning, her dressed in a sexy translucent black night gown and...oh damn! She's not even wearing a bra underneath! Oh, the demonity of it all!...tch, why is my mind wandering in such perverted territory? She's gotta get out of here...I can't have anyone thinking I'm reciprocating her feelings or wanting to marry her, dream or no dream. Besides...Overlords only marry because of wealth, status, power, and sex, not love. I just can't do that to Salome, though...ahhh shit, now I sound like a damn pathetic infatuated human man. It must be this book body of mine's fault...yeah that's it, I would never think in such a disgusting way if I was back in my original body. So then...how do I approach the situation at hand?'

He pondered to himself, closing his eyes as Salome's body was proving too distractive. It wasn't lost on Salome to see that he was acting peculiar, because Zetta went from looking mildly confused, to totally furious, to going red with embarrassment, to calm and serious, and finally to his typical thoughtful expression. Before she could dwell on it further and ask him what was wrong, he spoke.

"You must be mistaken, Salome. I never contacted you by telepathy. You were probably just dreaming it up or something and headed over here by accident. Just head back to your Netherworld and get back to sleep."

He lied, heading for the double doors at the right from his throne, where his personal chambers were situated.

'If I just go to bed, she'll probably get the hint and just go back...yeah, that'll work. Hopefully...'

He went as fast as he could, which wasn't that fast, being a book and all. Salome was now left alone, unconvinced.

'He's lying...he took way too long to answer and averted his gaze from my own, and those are the typical symptoms of when he lies about things. I'm a light sleeper, so when he called out to me, it instantly woke me up. He called out twice, to be exact, before claiming he needed help. Maybe the real question then would be why he needed my help...but, judging by his behavior, he'll be too stubborn to tell me anything, but why be so embarrassed about it in the first place as well?'

She thought to herself, her lips pursing into a frown.

"You've got me very curious about whatever help you wanted from me, Zetta...I suppose I could always ask Trenia, but that would be an invasion to your privacy, so I'll drop it."

She said to herself, preparing to teleport away, until the double doors swung open at the entrance of the Throne Room. Salome and Trenia's eyes met. The female Overlord spoke first.

"Speak of the devil...Hello, child. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Salome offered. The little girl smiled cutely, but her eyes seemed distractedly worried.

"Oh...hello, Lady Salome. What brings you to Zetta's castle?"

Trenia asked. Her voice sounded cheerful, yet something was off about it, just like her eyes. Salome looked slightly puzzled.

"What's wrong? In all our meetings, I don't think I've ever heard you ask a question before..."

The Overlord said, putting a finger to her lips in thought. Trenia nodded in agreement.

"Back then, I knew what would happen and so no questions needed to be asked, however...tonight has changed. The future can no longer be seen as anything but a black void."

Trenia mentioned, her voice becoming dead serious. Salome's eyes widened in surprise.

"Huh? Black void..."

Salome wasn't sure of what to make of the young girl's words. Trenia started heading for Zetta's chambers.

"I must speak with Lord Zetta. I think he is involved with the loss of my ability."

Trenia said as she made her way to the double doors that led to his chambers. Salome now stood right next to her.

"You think he is involved? How?"

Salome asked as she looked down at Trenia. The young girl let out a soft sigh.

"Your entitled to know since it involves the man you love, Lady Salome...and I wish I could be completely sure of my belief, but everything I will tell him is pure speculation. Speculation with an incident that happened centuries ago."

Trenia explained, though her words were cryptic at best. She pushed the doors opened before any more questions could be asked, continuing forward, Salome not too far behind.

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Personal Chambers (a.k.a Zetta's Room)

:MK:CST:

"He still sleeps down in that hole with all those scattered coffins, I see..."

Salome mentioned. For Zetta, everything was conformed to make his original body more powerful. He always slept on the roughest surface he could to build up pain tolerance for his body. So, where ever he choose to sleep during the conquest of other worlds, he chose the most jagged formed rock or drift wood he could and simply lay on it for the entire night, rolling about on it as much as possible regardless of the discomfort. When he got his castle, he had coffins made with bent spikes lining the surface, scattered nails, and broken shards of glass tossed in for good measure. The two females walked down the twisting flight of brick stairs, their only source of light being the dimly lit torches that lined the spiraling staircase's walls. They finally made it to the small graveyard of a room that was Zetta's after a few minutes. Many broken and mistreated wooden coffins laid strewn about the floor. Salome sighed.

"...and he could be sleeping in any one of them..."

Getting through the mess would be tricky, and Salome knew this by past experiences.

(Mini-note: Yeah I know...it's a play off Laharl that way with the coffins, but he was the only one whose sleeping quarters I've seen for any Overlords, thus the only inspiration to draw from.)

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

'Huh...? What's that humming sound. Something's touching my face...ah, dammit, my eyes won't open. Is this another whacked out dream like the one earlier?'

He was in total darkness. This was a similar symptom to his previous dream, but the feeling of flesh against his face, and the small humming noise that pierced his keen hearing were the only differences he was experiencing.

'Okay, so if this is just a dream, I should be able to wake up, right?'

He tried to wake up, but nothing happened, as if he were compelled to stay by some unknown force.

'What the hell gives? I don't feel the sensation of spikes prickling my back here, and I still feel like I'm in my original body...'

His thoughts were interrupted when a sliding sound came to his ears, causing his closed eyes to open halfway, squinting as painfully bright light entered his vision. A Prinny, presumably the one from before, stepped in the doorway. It's small frame was nearly entirely shaded black from the light coming into the room from the hallway outside, it's long shadow casting over his body and providing his eyes with much needed relief to adjust.

"Lord Zetta, dood. We've arrived, dood."

The Prinny said. Zetta's eyes opened to normal length as they completely adjusted. He could now see himself in a darkened room of some sort, slumped in what appeared to be a plain steel throne. It had been his fist pressed across his cheek to prop his head up that was the touching sensation he felt earlier. His body moved automatically as it got up, and moved past the Prinny, sparing no words like the last dream. This time, however, he was on what looked like a castle, only much more sparse in comparison to his original castle.

'Where the hell is this? Wait a minute, that large window over there...is that a huge wing out there? Is this some kind of giant vehicle? Whoa! I've never seen anything of this size and magnitude. Its practically a moving castle...'

He surmised, seeing the large glass window out of the corner of his eyes as his body continued forward. He heard the foot falls of other Prinnies in the hallway, and noticed them salute to him before walking on by.

'Strange...I've never seen such organized looking Prinnies before. That's why I never bothered to make Vassals out of them myself. Man, this is one cool place, though, whatever it is...damn, it's just a weird concoction my imagination cooked up in this dreaming state probably. I keep reading into things too deeply here...'

He tried to wake himself up again, but nothing ever happened and it only served to annoy him more and more.

'No matter how nice this is, it's not even reality. Am I really so lamenting of my original body that I'm more compelled to stay trapped in a freaking dream? Screw that, I want to live in the here and now of the real world, dammit. WAKE UP!'

He yelled those words repeatedly until he was sick of it, yet he still remained in his original body, his mind being the only thing he had any control over while his body went around more random and winding halls and stairways. His body finally stood in front of a door that had the word -BRIDGE- labeled over the top of it's frame. The door slid upward, and he and the Prinny walked in, staring before a complex network of computers and other such gadgetry. Everything was controlled by Prinnies of all different types of colors.

"As you can see, the first target we intend to check up on is the lowest planet of this system, and most likely this galaxy's Underworld, dood. He may very well be there, dood."

The Prinny grabbed some papers handed to him from another Prinny before giving them to Zetta. His eyes skimmed through the planet's schematics.

'Huh..? That's Seedle's Netherworld...but why? Oh, I get it. I have been wanting to kick that arrogant ass of a face around for a while now, so maybe this is why I'm so compelled to stay in this dream a bit longer...too bad it ain't real, but I think I've just been hit with some inspiration! When I wake up, maybe I really will go to his Netherworld and beat the living crap out of him!'

His trademark laugh echoed throughout his mind as his thoughts concluded.

-ToBeContinued-

Note: this chapter doesn't really feel quite as good to me as the first one did. I'm sure readers will be seeing a bit more of the similarities between this story and "The White Flower" now, what with the stopping off at other worlds and all. Of course, the emotional energy isn't quite so angst centered as I tried to make it with "The White Flower" and I'm trying to go down a bit of a more comedic route with the hopefully more complex story, but since I'm not a very good humor writer, don't expect too much. Sorry to Bella, but Laharl and the rest won't make it in this one, since the story isn't a crossover. Though, just to let you know, I do have some very tentative ideas for a CO or possibly an AU with Disgaea and Makai Kingdom that might show up in the near future (possibly mid 2006, once this story is complete). Anyway, sorry for the rushed update. I'll try and make up for it with the hopefully more interesting third chapter. Or if I get any free time I might redo this chapter...I'll play it by ear.


	3. Jet Black Seedle

Strongest

Chapter 3: Jet Black Seedle

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of character from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

'...why the hell am I waiting around like this? Dammit, first the dreams don't allow me to move my own body, and now they make everything seem in real time...sheesh, can't this wait period at least be fast forwarded or something?'

His body stood at the edge of the large nose of the massive flying fortress, arms crossed in waiting. The battleship had descended a fair amount towards Seedle's Netherworld, allowing his eyes to peer at the tiny specks of explosive carnage being wrought on the landscape. Seedle's troops had been caught off guard as Prinny manned Gear Metal LEX and Driller G type class tanks were dropped off from the battleship's docking bay. Seedle's battalions were most likely caught off guard by the large scale raid, but it seemed they were adjusting quickly and were halting most of the progress made by the Prinnies as they tried to scale up the large mountain where Seedle's Castle was located. The operation started at around one o' clock in the afternoon. That had been three hours ago according to his right hand Prinny's last report findings.

'Boring...standing here doing nothing like this is gonna make me sleep in the fantasy world just like in the real world. I'm practically begging Seedle will give those Prinnies a run for their money and allow me to intervene.'

He thought to himself, and would have let out a heavy sigh escape his lips if he could control his mouth. After waiting a few more moments in boredom, the sliding door that led out to the elongated deck opened and his right hand Prinny in this weird dream came outside of the ship to stand behind him.

"It seems our forces are not fairing so well, dood."

The Prinny said, walking up to Zetta to give another report of papers, most likely of the battle's progress from what the Prinny had mentioned. His body let his arms fall to his sides, a violet colored flame beginning to emanate from his right hand. The flames extended outward until it solidified into a massive black sword with an almost rounded off tip at the end of the blade. It's hilt was covered in thick, course red leather straps.

'My Genesis...heh, it feels so good to hold you again, despite not being the real world and all.'

He admired the weapon he had worked so hard to obtain during his youth. Only the strongest, craziest sword there was in the Cosmos would suit him and his inflated ego. Heck, the dark weapon was as big as he was in terms of height and width, possibly a bit bigger. Nearly any opponent who saw the enormous blade would pee in their pants at the thought of being cleaved in two with it, and Zetta used to relish in the feeling hours on end, as per his arrogant nature.

(Mini-Note: Yeah, I know it's actually Sprout's sword, Shiva, from Phantom Brave, but come on now, you gotta admit that was one cool looking weapon. It's too bad they didn't give more variety in the weapon designs of Makai Kingdom like they did with Phantom Brave or Disgaea...oh well.)

"I take it you will go in alone then, dood? Then I will have any of the remaining ground forces retreat back to the docking bay, dood."

The Prinny said as he lowered the report, walking away. Zetta soon found himself engulfed in spiraling crimson light, realizing he was teleporting down to the Netherworld below.

:MK:CST:

Seedle's Netherworld (a.k.a The Underworld), Outskirts of Overlord's Castle

:MK:CST:

"Good, those damn Prinnies are finally retreating. Why the hell did they attack us in the first place, though?"

A male Samurai pondered to himself as he spoke to a female Samurai. She simply shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Still...when we fought them, don't you think they seemed a little too well organized for the typical Prinny?"

She asked. He nodded.

"Yeah...the only things I've ever seen Prinnies do most of the time is just throw things around for no apparent reason and act like a bunch of weirdos."

He answered. An Archer came up to join in the conversation.

"Some Prinnies got into Lord Seedle's Castle. He can handle himself, but we should check up on him just to make sure."

She said. The two samurai nodded in agreement as they began walking towards the rest of their comrades to begin the trek up the mountain.

"What is that light?"

A Warrior said pointing to the crimson light that appeared behind the first three combatants.

"Now what the hell's up?"

The male Samurai said as he turned around. Everyone let out surprised gasps as Zetta appeared before them all, hefting his giant sword across his shoulder with ease.

"Your...Lord Zetta. Why are you here?"

The Archer said after her initial shock wore off. The male Samurai growled, his hand grasping his sheathed katana.

"You've gotten your body back, huh? Are you here for revenge against Seedle after he almost succeeded in killed your former apprentice?"

He asked of Zetta.

'What! Hell no...this is simply because I can. Don't bring Salome into this, punk!'

His mind retorted, not that his words would do much since they could only be heard by him. His body tensed up slightly, hand gripping around the hilt of his Genesis even tighter than before, producing a slight squeaking sound from the leather straps. This action did not go unnoticed by the male Samurai, and he too gripped his weapon tighter.

"It seems you are. But we will protect our Lord at the costs of our own lives if need be. I don't care if you are the strongest Overlord. Have at you, Lord Zetta!"

The Samurai let out a fierce battle cry as he unsheathed his katana with rapid speed, or at least tried to had Zetta's foot not gone up to press against the blade's pommel, effectively stopping the attack before it could succeed in being completely unsheathed to do the Overlord any harm. Before the samurai could even gasp in surprise, his head was clipped from the rest of his body, as Zetta's arm retaliated with horizontal swing of his weapon from it's place on his shoulder. The lifeless body of the Samurai fell on it's back before disappearing.

"YOU BASTARD!"

The female Samurai rushed in with her own katana, drawing it from her sheath in a wide arc to cut Zetta's own head down. His left hand came up, grasping the blunt side of her katana shy of a few hairs from reaching his throat. The female Samurai was soon impaled in the stomach with the massive blade before being tossed aside as her lifeless body also faded away. Everyone who witnessed all this backed up slightly, confidence completely erased. His body started walking slowly towards the soldiers, bloody blade leaving a trail of crimson to spatter the ground. The Archer held up her rifle shakily.

"S...S...S...Stay back!"

She stuttered, her eyes wide with fear. Zetta simply kept walking, no words leaving his mouth. She fired expertly despite her panicked state, but his head simply moved to the side just enough to let the bullet fly past him, leaving him unscathed. The Archer's life was immediately ended as his sword came down on her, splitting her head open. After she fell to the ground, his eyes focused on the soldiers on the higher parts of the mountain.

:MK:CST:

Seedle's Netherworld (a.k.a The Underworld), Overlord's Castle, Emperor Chambers

:MK:CST:

"Someone has a lot of nerve sending killer penguins after me."

Seedle said to himself. One of his katanas was embedded in a Prinny's mouth, suspending it to a wall. He pulled the blade free, and the Prinny faded out of existence before it's body even touched ground. He removed a white cloth from his sleeve, cleaning his weapon with a single swipe before tossing the bloody rag to the ground. Although he had a large window in which to check the progress of his soldiers outside, he didn't even bother. Their cries of pain and death were all he needed to hear to know they were losing to whoever was scaling up his mountain. He calmly waited now to intercept his enemy, already hearing the cries entering his Japanese styled castle. Many of the cries got louder and louder, signaling his opponent to be coming closer and closer to the top. The shoji screen doors were swung open as a bleeding Healer entered his chambers, heavily leaning against her staff for support.

"Report."

Seedle demanded, his one good eye narrowing ever so slightly. The Healer let out a couple of haggard breaths before speaking.

"Lord Seedle, you must escape, it's too dangerous...'

Before she could say anymore, she was cut down in the back, her body falling forward along with the damaged shoji panels. Seedle's eye was met only with a jagged black silhouette amongst the darkness of the hallway. Zetta's body entered slowly and dramatically, his foot falls heavy against the matted floor. Seedle growled deep in his throat with anger and surprise.

"Zetta...you're the one whose behind this, and you even got your body back. My spies had informed me that little girl had predicted otherwise. How? How is it you stand before me now then?"

Seedle spoke, his grip tightening on the yellow ribbon wrapped hilt of his katana as he regarded the other Overlord.

'Come on, body, say something cool and bring the fear into his gaze dammit! You've been boring me to tears without a single crazily cool catchphrase in this dream at all.'

Zetta's mind complained. Even the long trek upward to Seedle's lair didn't make his body produce a single verbal sound or any emotion.

"What's the matter Zetta? Cat caught your tongue?"

Seedle asked arrogantly, but Zetta's body did not react in any way, and just continued to stand there calmly, annoying both Seedle and his own mind further.

'Dammit, this is my dream! Hurry up and say something and stop making me look like a mute idiot!'

His mind shouted, though it was always a futile effort that never resulted in anything, much to his chagrin.

"Are you here because of what I almost did to Salome a month ago? Isn't it a bit late to be caring about that anymore? You and that stupid kid, Alex, interfered before I could strike down Pram and complete my own desire anyway. Isn't that enough, you asshole! ANSWER ME!"

Seedle's eye was beginning to twitch as his anger began swelling to greater heights. He was the one who usually got others riled up with his choice of words that were specifically meant to enrage others. And here was Zetta, standing stock still and being completely out of character from his usual arrogant self. Seedle might as well be talking to a wall with the way Zetta's body was acting, or rather, not acting.

"So you won't answer me, eh? Fine, then I'll make you scream after tearing you apart limb by limb, Zetta!"

Seedle drew his other katana, the pair of twin blades called the Last Samurai, before getting into his battle stance. The Samurai Overlord moved backwards, as if daring Zetta to enter the large room. His body obliged, stepping forward, sword tapping against the floor with each stride and shaking blood free from its surface. Seedle was almost taken off guard as he was attacked instantly with a single handed thrust from when the other Overlord closed the distance and stood roughly five feet away. The giant blade met with the two katanas, igniting a few sparks. Seedle grunted as he was pushed back slightly, but retaliated by pushing roughly against Zetta's weapon, leaving an opening to counter attack, which he immediately took in order to land the first blow. Zetta's arm retracted the heavy sword with ease, bringing it right in front of him to prevent being cleaved in two. Seedle went on the complete offensive, using his lighter weapons to his advantage to attack with speed. Zetta's body didn't allow him that opportunity, rushing forward and using the Genesis as the perfect shield, forcing Seedle further back. His body quickly swayed back to put him at a reasonable distance away from Seedle, drawing the sword behind him before swinging it downward with both hands. Seedle cursed sharply and dove out of the way, knowing the Genesis would have proven too tough to defend against when Zetta wield it with two hands. The blade slammed into the ground, uplifting dust and debris in its wake. Seedle could not discern the location of Zetta with the smoke screen cascading around the room. Feeling the slight change in the air around him, Seedle crouched as Zetta swung out horizontally, almost succeeded in taking Seedle's head off. Some of the smoke dissipated with the swing, and Zetta's upper body was now visible to Seedle. Using the smoke screen to his advantage, he rolled soundlessly along the ground to get to the side of Zetta before silently rushing him.

"Over here!"

Seedle shouted as he was already upon Zetta before the Overlord could react, both Last Samurai sheathed. Seedle struck Zetta so quickly, his entire body and katana he drew from a sheath were nothing more than blurs. Seedle grinned sadistically as he felt the solid impact of his blade against Zetta's flesh, though it appeared as if he completely missed altogether. With the sheathing of his katana, the full force of his movement went into effect, the wind generated causing Zetta's body to flip up a good few feet in the air with a large gash running along his torso before falling face first to the ground. Seedle didn't give Zetta the chance to get up either, quickly turning around to end Zetta's life with the drawing of his swords, but Zetta's arm swiftly brought Genesis up to guard the scissor motion slash of Seedle's weapons, before using his fist to land an uppercut to Seedle's jaw, sending the opposition staggering back with a slight stun. Zetta stood up, slashing his sword upward to send jagged glaciers of ice in Seedle's direction.

"Uuugh!"

Seedle grunted out in pain as his chest was pierced with the ice attack, being sent down the hole Zetta created in the floor with his earlier attack. Zetta jumped in after him, sword held back to impale the Samurai Overlord right through the stomach. Seedle rolled out of the way to evade the attack as the giant sword was wedged deeply into the ground. Using the opportunity, Seedle tried to attack Zetta before he could free the Genesis. His Last Samurai swirled through the air with the powerful swing, but Zetta freed his hold on his large weapon and caught Seedle's wrist. Seedle attacked with his other weapon, but Zetta caught that one as well. Seedle performed a back flip, kicking Zetta right under the chin, and sending the other Overlord reeling back. Seedle landed on Zetta's shoulders, preparing to thrust his Last Samurai right through either side of Zetta's head. Zetta grabbed hold of each of Seedle's ankles, forcing the Samurai Overlord off balance and making him fall back and hit his head against the floor. He kept hold of Seedle's ankles, spinning around in a complete circle and suspending Seedle off the ground, building his momentum and going faster with each revolution of his body. He finally released Seedle, hurling his opponent right at his still rooted blade. Seedle would have surely been cut in half had he not struck the ground with his katana to throw his trajectory away from the cutting edge of the sword. Seedle flipped through the air, landing behind the blade, his back hitting the wall as he breathed in sharply and clutched his head. His balance had been completely thrown off since Zetta spun him around, and he needed time to recover. He could already hear Zetta trying to pull the Genesis free, and tried to recover as quickly as he could. Zetta succeeded in freeing the sword, along with a decent sized chunk of the ground still hanging around it. Right as Seedle recovered, he saw as Zetta had already reeled back for the swing, leaving only the chance to defend but not evade. His katanas were crossed over in front of him as the impact met, making the piece of the floor explode off Zetta's sword, the force also blowing Seedle through the wall and out of his own castle.

'Damn...is this really Zetta? He seems so different...sure he has tremendous power but he always flaunted it due to his arrogance and self-centered ways, which made him fairly easy to manipulate, at the cost of great consequences. That is, if he ever found out...but that man...'

Seedle was in a free fall down the side of his castle and his high mountain upon which the castle sat. An image of the cocky, grinning Zetta of the past came to his mind, and was then filled with the Zetta he was witnessing now, one with a small and calm frown, coupled with an icy cold gaze through slightly narrowed eyes. Seedle gritted his teeth together as he continued to think.

'When...when did he become so coldly focused and efficient?'

Seedle was about to connect head first with the side of the mountain, but righted himself up so his feet faced it. Just before his feet made contact, though, a light sphere enveloped him. This was one of the luxuries Overlords shared, the gift of indefinite flight. The sphere vanished, and he remained hovering just shy of a few inches from where his head would have met with solid rock.

'Heh...I don't know if I can win anymore, but I must continue fighting! That man stole the woman I loved, stole my revenge long after that love turned into hatred towards her. Zetta, you...'

When the name came to mind, he looked towards his castle where a black blur sped out into the air from the hole created. Zetta's form was hovering well above his own, sword resting against a shoulder and back turned as if to regard the sunset along the mountain range in the far distance. Seedle looked at the man's back with pure loathing in his eye. Zetta turned around finally, staring down at Seedle from his vantage point, the same emotionless look upon his face.

"LET'S GO, ZETTA! ALLOW ME TO CARVE THAT HEART OF YOUR'S OUT WITH THESE TWO BLADES!"

With that mighty roar, Seedle sped up towards Zetta, katanas firmly grasped in front of him, their tips aimed straight for Zetta's heart. The Overlord's body backed up slightly before dive bombing towards Seedle, his massive blade aimed down at his adversary's own heart.

-ToBeContinued-

Note: This chapter is fairly decent, though it probably could have been better detailed overall. I also wanted to thank you for answering my question to the best of your knowledge, Bella. I will most likely use the idea since I was kind of planning it to be that way already when the time comes. I've also reworked that part out you mentioned in chapter two (I guess I was rushing too fast since the chapter was almost complete. Sorry about that). I apologize to readers if things so far seem a bit confusing. The issues will be made more clear as updates come up, though. Hopefully...


	4. Bloody Seedle

Strongest

Chapter 4: Bloody Seedle

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Seedle's Netherworld (a.k.a The Underworld), Fujiyama

:MK:CST:

The sounds of clashing blades rang through the sky. Seedle and Zetta flew about the mountain, intent on cutting each other into shreds.

'This is pretty weird...I can feel all the adrenaline rushing through my body, my muscles tightening and contracting as I move in for the attack or pull away in defense...and yet my mind can completely wander off somewhere else.'

Zetta thought to himself as his body used the Genesis to deflect one of Seedle's attacks away from him before retaliating with a slash of his own. Seedle escaped back but was not fast enough to evade the entire attack and ended up with a slight cut in his side.

'Too bad this whole auto pilot experience ain't as fun as being in full control. The last person I ever fought while I still had that control over my body was Raiden. I'd repeat that fight again and again if it were possible. Oh well...just seeing Seedle get smacked around almost compensates for that.'

Zetta was laughing it up in his head now. Seedle used speed to attack Zetta from many angles in attempts to break through the Overlord's defense. The Samurai Overlord's success rate was rare, though he did manage to land a few crucial cuts to Zetta's right arm and in turn making the overall attack power and speed decrease due to the sheer weight the Genesis possessed.

'I have to force Zetta to drop that weapon of his. It'll be much easier hacking away at flesh and bone rather than that blade.'

Seedle pondered to himself as he flew over Zetta's head to evade an attack, and trying to counter by thrusting one of his katanas down at the Overlord's shoulder. Zetta used his left hand to swat the blade away, not caring as the sharp edge bit into his palm. A slight smirk appeared on Zetta's face as he spun around, smacking Seedle in the back with the blunt side of his sword and forcing Seedle to a lower altitude. Before Seedle could recover, Zetta smashed his weapon into the Samurai Overlord's chest, making him plummet further until he struck the ground. Seedle coughed out blood as he made impact, his breathing becoming shallower.

'That bastard...now he's toying with me?'

Seedle growled deeply as he propped himself up on an elbow. His eye widened in recognition as a violet light shined across the edge of the Genesis. Zetta brought the blade overhead as the light intensified, before swinging it downward, ripping a dimensional portal out of the sky in front of him that unleashed a wave of negatively charged energy that whaled with the cries of the damned. Seedle had a bloody toothed grin plastered on his face as he teleported out of the blast's way as it scorched a good chunk of the ground.

"You seem a little preoccupied, Zetta."

Seedle said to the Overlord's right. Zetta only faced him with his blank gaze, showing no sign of surprise as he was left open for Seedle's assault. Seedle slashed the Last Samurai across the back of Zetta's right hand, causing the Genesis to free fall with the blackened earth left behind from Zetta's previous technique. Now that Zetta was weaponless, Seedle sadistically capitalized on the opportunity. His weapons moved so fast, it was as if a wall of blades were sent in Zetta's direction, cutting him severely across different areas of the chest almost simultaneously to leave deep wounds and forcing him back across the sky. The straps of Zetta's cape were cut as well, but the Overlord grabbed a fistful of the it before it could flutter to the ground below. Seedle chuckled as he rushed towards Zetta, piercing into Zetta's left shoulder with one of his katanas. He then spun Zetta around, building momentum before hurling Zetta at his mountain. The Overlord was pinned by the katana blade still imbedded in his shoulder. Seedle then teleported right in front of him, looking smugly down at Zetta's trapped form.

"Heh...perhaps your still just a big, fat, fake Overlord after all Zetta. I'm going to enjoy cutting you to pieces. And I'll enjoy doing the same to Salome after I absorb the Mana from your corpse. Maybe I'll even leave your head in good condition as a parting gift for her or keep it as a trophy myself, eh?"

Seedle said in his sadistic tone as he grabbed a fistful of Zetta's hair and making the Overlord look at him. Seedle had been pleased at his handiwork at first, but one look at the blank gaze of Zetta caused him to get angrier. Zetta was totally taking the satisfaction away because he didn't look scared or intimidated with the Samurai Overlord in the slightest.

"What the fuck's wrong with you, Zetta! Scream, beg for mercy, act like your in pain...DO SOMETHING!"

Seedle roared angrily in frustration as he clubbed Zetta repeatedly across the face with the pommel of his Last Samurai, trying to get some reaction from the ever silence Overlord. Zetta's response was only to smirk arrogantly, further pissing Seedle off.

"You son of a bitch...how dare you act as if I was the one pinned to this mountain and you're the one looking down at me! You...!"

Seedle gritted his teeth together hard as he clenched the katana in his hand so tight that his knuckles were going white. Zetta's mind was a different story to the calm and composed body.

'What the hell! No fucking way can I be losing to Seedle! Damn, and this dream was going so well until it turned into this nightmare...Tch! Come on body, you better pull off something good here! Come on, Dammit!'

Zetta's mind was pleading, becoming to immersed in his dream again, as Seedle prepared to sever the Overlord's head from the rest of his body.

"...I'LL KILL YOU!"

Seedle yelled out viciously, aiming his sword at Zetta's neck. It was at this time that Zetta's body reacted. Using the cape he still held onto, he swung it upward as the red inlaid cloth of the black cape altered to show an image of the stars in space. Soon Seedle was engulfed in darkness for a few brief seconds before the world came back to view again.

'What the...I'm on the ground?'

Seedle looked up at his mountain as he heard his other Last Samurai clattering down it. Seedle's eye widened in shock.

"Where...?"

Seedle heard the rustling wind behind him and turned to see Zetta flying straight at him. Seedle attacked with a swipe of his weapon, but Zetta swerved to the side to get behind Seedle. Before the Samurai Overlord could react, he was struck in the back with such force, he was sent skidding across the ground face first. He lifted his head out of the dirt, coughing slightly. Seedle tried to retaliate when Zetta walked in range, only to be captured in Zetta's cape again and appear in midair.

'His cape can...'

Before Seedle could fully complete the thought, Zetta caught him in the air before pile driving him back into the ground. Seedle grunted as he lifted himself back up as Zetta descended softly to the ground. Zetta and Seedle simply stared off at each other for a few brief moments, before Zetta turned to look down to his right side where the Genesis lay conveniently on the ground for him to pick up.

'Whew, that was a little too close for comfort...man, I completely forgot my cape could be manipulated to open space rifts and send people through different areas of their worlds. Good thing my body didn't forget. And with my Genesis in hand, Seedle is going to be kissing dirt again pretty soon!'

Zetta thought in typical arrogant fashion as his body walked slowly in Seedle's direction.

"Zetta...damn you."

Seedle growled out as he brought his katana up in his fighting stance.

'How could someone like the arrogant, self-centered punk of an Overlord Zetta become so withdrawn? I can't even telegraph his techniques because he remains completely emotionless. Damn that asshole...I can't win! I'm being robbed of my second shot at revenge!'

Even knowing the futility of it all, Seedle continued to battle as he rushed towards Zetta. He swung his katana with both hands, able to push Zetta back slightly. He kept trying to deflect Zetta's massive sword out of the way to land a solid attack to the Overlord's body. Zetta countered by striking with his cape, but Seedle hopped over it, smashing into Zetta with his shoulder before performing a rising slash as he leaped into the air and causing Zetta to go airborne. Seedle summoned a lightning bolt that slammed Zetta back down to earth, giving the Samurai Overlord time to dive down from his jump, katana aimed down to impale the Overlord through the throat.

"DIE!"

Seedle yelled out when he was only a centimeter away from hitting Zetta. The Overlord proved more resourceful, opening a portal with his cape to which he escaped Seedle's attack. Seedle landed on the cape, quickly looking about to find Zetta.

'Where the hell did he...?'

He was soon struck from behind, his katana dropping free from his grasp. Zetta quickly trapped the Samurai Overlord with his cape, before hefting it his shoulder. Zetta then proceeded to repeatedly slam Seedle against the ground, not even stopping as the cape became stained with blood. Seedle was able to break free as his blood soaked the cape and weakened the tough fabric. He rolled along the ground, a bloody mess. Seedle rose to his feet again with much effort, but soon fell back down in exhaustion.

'If I had known he was going to pull out all the stops, I would have done the same...dammit, it's too late now...'

Seedle finally lost consciousness, believing his fate was sealed. Zetta began making his way towards Seedle's still form.

'OH YEAH! I just owned your bitch ass like it was nothing, Seedle! King Zetta retains his undisputed title as the most Bad-Ass Freaking Overlord in the Cosmos! And let this be a lesson never to forget that! HAAA HAA HA!'

Zetta gloated. That, however, was short lived as his vision became blurry and the sensation of being ripped from his body was coming back again.

'No! Wait! Hold on! I don't want to wake up just yet...I haven't even concluded my gloating session in it's entirety. Come on, just one more hour! Okay, at least a minute! Uh...five seconds then? Ah man, you gotta be kidding me here! Right at the best part too! Whoever's fucking doing this is one sick, twisted...'

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Personal Chamber (a.k.a Zetta's Room)

:MK:CST:

"...SON OF AAAAA...!"

His yell drowned out the startled gasp of someone as he hit and fell into something soft. This surprised him because he half expected to hit the door to the coffin he was staying in.

"Ow, Zetta, that hurt."

That had been Salome's voice.

'What the...? Why is Salome...?'

Zetta realized he was laying on top of Salome, or more specifically...her breasts.

"OHHH SHIT!"

Zetta was off her in record time, his eyes as wide as saucers. Salome sat up from the coffin Zetta had accidently knocked her on when he had woke up so suddenly.

"That was unexpected..."

Salome said softly as she began to message her aching breasts since Zetta did ram into them quite roughly. The book Overlord, despite how much he was telling himself how disgusted he was to see her do that, could not unglue his intense gaze away from her...until a familiar chuckle caught his attention. He growled menacingly.

"Trenia...you...you...YOU SET THIS ALL UP?"

He turned to face the little girl who was covering her mouth in an attempt to muffle her laughter, but it was no use. Zetta's cheeks were already well colored in the pink tint of embarrassment, and his eyes flared dangerously.

"That's it, now I'm really pissed off...ZETTA BEAM!"

He intentionally lowered the destructive power of his eye lasers to only shock her, more or less, since something within affected his nature and prevented him from killing her outright. Trenia had been laughing so hard that she fell over, and Zetta ended up blasting some of the coffins behind her instead. Luckily they only popped up in the air for a few brief moments rather than explode and send bits of wood, nail, and glass all over the place. Salome rose up and tried to intervene.

"Zetta, please wait. Trenia has to..."

Salome didn't realize a bent nail that was protruding from the coffin had snagged at a piece of fabric of her night gown, and as she tried to walk directly towards Zetta, the clothing slid off her lithe frame. She took a sharp intake of air in surprise, causing Zetta to look worriedly towards her...and nearly getting an eyeful of her in all her naked glory. He felt as if he was going to hyperventilate.

"Salome...!"

Unfortunately for him, his nose spurted blood as his blush became even darker. And with no hands to assist in stopping it...

'Crap...can this day not get any WORSE! But more importantly...why is Salome having this effect on me here and now of all times...I've never acted like a complete love sick idiot teenager for a brief second in all my life...except for today. I mean she practically wears clothing that's like a second skin...how the hell can I be embarrassed around her half naked? Ugh...I already know Trenia will never let me live this down...geez, she's still laughing at me. DAMMIT!'

:MK:CST:

Seedle's Netherworld (a.k.a The Underworld), Fujiyama

:MK:CST:

Although Zetta himself thought everything pertaining to what was happening on Seedle's Netherworld as nothing but a dream, it had been truthfully a very real event.

"I'm...still alive?"

Seedle groaned as he sat up slowly. His eye narrowed sharply as he caught sight of Zetta's body, lying face first on the ground.

'He must have passed out before he had a chance to kill me...should have expected that with the extent of his injuries, and now here is my chance to end it...hm?'

Seedle looked to the sky as he heard a strange noise. He got up as best as he could, seeing something peek out from the clouds. Seedle saw that the mountain wasn't too far away, so he made his way over to a small crevice at the base of the mountain to take cover.

'What...the hell...is that?'

Seedle could only watch in awe as the giant black space battleship descended towards Zetta's location. Seedle watched as Prinnies came down from the docking bay hangar, flying down with both CX-1 Hellpha and CX-2 Hellta class type support vehicles. The unconscious body of Zetta was brought back up to the massive battleship before it aimed for the skies and took off again, dispersing all the clouds in it's path.

'Zetta commands that giant flying machine? I don't have anything to contend with that thing...Damn!'

He leaned against one of the rock surfaces, breathing ragged as he fought to stay conscious. His hand rested against an odd indentation in the rock surface.

'Hm...this is...these carvings mean -Kamikaze-. Heh, that's right...they are hidden here.'

He felt around for a bit until he pulled a lever that unveiled a cave that led into a small cavern in the mountain. Seedle made his way there, where a small body of water surrounded a rock platform with a stone alter, which held two sheathed katanas wrapped in platinum-silver ribbons. Seedle went to the alter and grabbed one of them, unsheathing one katana half way to gaze at the sky blue surface of the blade that glowed with an oddly eerie aura. Seedle smirked.

"Zetta, you'll regret not killing me. I'll go to the source of your weakness...your woman. The time of staying away in darkness on this netherworld are over. Besides, Salome was on my hit list anyway. You should have put her on that machine of your's when you had the chance, Zetta."

He sheathed the blade again before grabbing it's twin and heading out, putting both blades in the back of his belt in their crossed over fashion.

"After I get treated by one of my reserved army's healer, I'll go and kill Salome. And when you return Zetta...we'll see how well your sword fairs against these blades. These Devine Winds. Heh Heh Heh!"

-ToBeContinued-

Note: Well, this chapter doesn't flow nearly as well in my opinion compared to the previous chapter, but it's still okay at best. Everything became so serious all of a sudden, but I guess that's to be expected. Anyway, hopefully things should get more interesting by the next chapter "story wise", as this one is mostly just a bunch of mindless fighting.


	5. Mysterious Baal

Strongest

Chapter 5: Mysterious Baal

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room

:MK:CST:

Salome was sitting with Trenia, both of them kept hidden behind a large draping curtain. Zetta would not tolerate any of his vassals or other retainers of his castle to know that Salome was here at this very moment. No words about her staying would leave the castle walls as long as he had a say in the matter. The female Overlord had obliged to his wishes and Trenia decided to keep her company while Zetta was going to get his nose attended to by a Medic, who had yet to show up. Why he didn't let Trenia take care of it was anyone's guess, though he was probably still very miffed about the little girl laughing at his expense due to his reaction when Salome's night gown nearly came off.

"Will it always be like this now? Can I never be seen on his Netherworld by his side when any other people are around? It's been like this for practically the entire month since I've been revived...he seems to avoid me more and more."

Salome sighed out softly as she looked longingly at Zetta from her hiding place, her crimson eyes following him as he paced about in the center of the Throne Room waiting for the Medic to arrive. She was broken from her melancholy state when Trenia patted her back reassuringly.

"I'm sorry about this, Lady Salome. I should have looked further into the future to foresee this happening. I didn't want to give Zetta any false hopes that his body was ever coming back, no matter how many Overlords wished upon the Sacred Tome. That was one of the main factors that pressured him into preserving his self-image as the strongest Overlord and start avoiding you. Because, as you know, he's far more an imposing figure in his body than he'll ever hope to be as the Sacred Tome. I was hoping this phase of his would disappear soon once he achieved in keeping that image up to the media, but before I could dwell further, the visions that came to me became nothing but blank images. That was earlier in the morning before the sun even came up, when I met you along the way to see Zetta and talk to him."

The little girl explained, putting on her brightest smile to cheer up the female Overlord.

"Don't worry about it, Trenia. I'm sure Zetta would rather know the truth about his body rather than trying to give him false hope, like Pram originally did. So I don't really mind that. I was jumping to conclusions much too fast when I saw him react the way he did when he almost caught a glimpse of me naked. He never was like that with any of his one-night flings in the past, so I thought maybe today was my best progress of entering into his heart than any other times before. Don't be concerned about my love life though, Trenia. I'm no longer a Human with a life span of about a hundred years or so. As a Demon, I'll hopefully have plenty of other chances in the future, so I won't be giving up that easily after working so hard already."

Salome said, her frown upturning into a small smile.

"I'm glad to hear that. Your love has helped Zetta steadily become a better person, even if you don't outwardly see the results. Please continue to be strong for Zetta, Lady Salome...because as much as I pray otherwise, I believe there will be a great commotion entering into this universe soon."

This time it was Trenia's turn to be melancholy, and she turned from Salome to watch Zetta for a few brief moments before lowering her gaze and sighing heavily.

"What do you mean? What is this...great commotion you were mentioning?"

Salome asked with concern at the girl's look of sadness and the sight twinge of fear that shown in her eyes. The female Overlord was baffled because Trenia was starting to act out of character again by showing these negative emotions which were never witnessed by any other before.

"I can only speculate, but these feelings within me are so much alike to the ones I had in the past...that it makes me wonder if -that man- has gotten free. If -he- is the other factor subtly altering Zetta's course of mind..."

Trenia spoke, her body beginning to shiver as her fear became more apparent, and Salome's concern deepened further.

"Who is -he-? Trenia, who is this person your talking about?"

Salome asked, grasping onto Trenia's shoulders to try and steady the girl.

"Lady Salome...you've heard his name mentioned before...the Demon named...Baal."

Trenia was barely able to get the name out of her mouth, her teeth chattering so much in fear, it was a surprise she was still able to speak clearly at all.

"Baal...that name...wait, isn't he the legend that Demon parents use to scare their children into submission? Isn't that just what he is, though? Just a legend."

Salome inquired after letting the name roll off her tongue to be thought over. Trenia's eyes darkened, her lips nothing more than a thin line as she stared at the floor stoically.

"Baal is very real. He was one of the first Demons to ever come into existence here, a good 481 trillion years ago, though they existed long before that in an alternate universe that is connected via a dimensional rift to this universe. All the Demons that came were strong and able enough that they were all considered Overlord classed, and due to their tyrannical mind sets, many waged war with others in hopes of becoming the strongest and making their Netherworlds shine brightest..."

Trenia began explaining, Salome interrupting without meaning to, but the words just came out of her mouth.

"That sounds almost exactly like the conquest campaigns I participated with Zetta in when we were trying to become more powerful during our master and apprentice days..."

Salome said, just above a whisper. Trenia nodded, having not taken any offense to the interruption and just continued to speak.

"Yes. That was the first of those ancient traditions when too many Demons became so powerful, they battled it out to become the most qualified Overlords. In fact, both Baal and Babylon existed in that time frame."

Trenia's word made a slight gasp escape Salome's mouth.

"Old gramps Babylon, the Dragon Overlord? I had no idea he existed that far back in time. Wait a minute...how is it that you know so much about the past? Is this another ability you have?"

Salome questioned after getting over her genuine awe at how old Babylon really was.

"My knowledge of the past comes from the fact that me and my family lived during that time as well. Every female born in my family has the same ability to see into the future, and every male born is charged with the duty of protecting us. Those customs died out during the ancient war of Overlords to determine the strongest. I'm actually only about six billion years younger than Babylon is in terms of age, but my knowledge of the universes far exceed his own. The reason I appear much younger than I truly am is because..."

Before Trenia could continue further, the two double doors opened as two Muscle Demons pushed them aside, a flustered Medic rushing into the Throne Room, his helmet having fallen off his head.

"LORD ZETTA! I'M SORRY FOR BEING LATE! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

The Medic hollered as he went straight towards Zetta. The Medic was going so fast across the slick floor, he wasn't going to be able to stop in time. The Medic realized this too late, eyes widening in fear of hitting Zetta. Zetta growled in annoyance, also noting the Medic coming to close to him at rapid speed.

"Lord Zetta, your going to be hit!"

One of the Muscle Demons warned, but Zetta didn't pay them any attention, only bringing himself back before head butting the Medic in the face. Everyone watched in a mix expression horror and surprise as the Medic flipped through the air on impact, smacking into the floor with his back very hard.

"What the hell took you so long? You said you would be here the next one second and fifty three milliseconds ago from the time given without the need for me to instantly confine you here. Was that one little weakling of a rogue monster more than you could handle at your post than you described? Well was it? I'm a busy Overlord here and I have things to do, got it! You and the rest of the slackers at the castle are even lucky I give you a five second break between work thanks to your damn Unions and labor force crap. Your also lucky that I'm in a good enough mood to leave you with a warning, but if this ever happens again, I'll Zetta Beam you until your eye balls pop out of your head and your body becomes nothing more than a pile of black dust. Now hurry up and get this over with, idiot!"

Zetta ranted on without even giving the poor guy a chance to respond in his own defense, not that it would probably matter anyway. The Medic thanked his lucky stars for just getting a warning, because he had heard of Zetta doing much worse to his vassals when he actually was in his original body. Not wanting to get on Zetta's bad side again, the Medic quickly got up to do his assigned task. It wasn't even that long of a task either, and once the Medic was done, he ran out of the Throne Room as fast as he came in, only stopping by the entrance to give Zetta one salute before leaving to go back to his post on the outskirts of Zetta's castle. Zetta then addressed the two Muscle Demons who guarded the room.

"I am having some clients over, so I don't expect to be disturbed. No excuses. Even if this Netherworld were to burst into flames...well, I take that back, if and only if the Netherworld is going to burst into flames do you two even think about entering into this room. Is that clear?"

Zetta responded, his eyes glaring at the them with the promise of a not so quick and painless death to await them should they brake that rule. The two nodded quickly before leaving, slamming the doors behind them none too gently along the way in their haste to get out of Zetta's line of vision.

"Alright, little girl, you had better have a damn good reason for sneaking into my room earlier."

Zetta muttered angrily as he watched Trenia and Salome come to stand before him. Trenia nodded, her face stoic. Something that Zetta had never seen in her facial expressions before.

"Zetta...my ability to see into the future is no longer working. You may or may not be the cause of this."

Trenia stated bluntly. Zetta's eyes narrowed.

"What the hell...your not making any sense."

He responded, confusion apparent in his voice. Confusion that soon turned into rage.

"Enlighten me. You had better not turn out to be a fake like Pram, or else...I may not be able to kill you myself, but I have other ways of getting around that little mishap."

Zetta threatened, teeth bared in a feral snarl. Salome stepped in front of Trenia.

"Zetta, she's just a child so there's no need to act like that. Please...just let the two of us hear her out and keep calm. Your anger won't help in this situation."

Salome told him. Zetta's features softened, though only a slight amount.

"Yeah, I know...anyway, what makes you think I did anything, Trenia? I don't know even the first thing about your abilities and the like, so how would I know a way to halt their workings?"

He questioned. Trenia averted her gaze.

"It's as I said, you may or may not be the cause. Now that I think on it more...you may even be a mixture of both. At first when I realized your future could no longer be traced about a week ago, I passed it off believing you may have found the way to shield yourself and keep your future a blank slate."

Trenia said. Zetta looked intrigued.

"You mean there really is a way to prevent your powers from predicting my future? How did I achieve that without prior knowledge?"

Zetta questioned, more to himself than to Trenia.

"Everything, whether physical or otherwise, is composed of Mana power. You know this already, Zetta. Only living beings can manipulate other Mana energies, and those who can manipulate their own composition of Mana have the ability to render my powers useless against them. Thus, their future becomes their own to witness, not for me to foresee it. I thought that's what had happened with you...that you learned how to manipulate your Mana in that way, but it was only on this day that I began to think otherwise. The fact of the matter is, not a single creature here in the whole universe can be read by me any longer, and that's something I knew was out of your grasp and yet your resonating with that power. Only the three Overlords from the past could achieve it, but only one actually used it: Baal, the Overlord of legends long past."

Trenia explained to him. Both Zetta and Salome stared wide eyed at her, and at the sheer thought of an Overlord who could not only disrupt the flow of Mana in oneself, but in all other beings at the same time.

"Baal...?"

Zetta murmured softly to himself.

"This leads to me to wonder, Zetta. Baal is still very much alive, but there should be no way that he can exist here and have this kind of influence on an entire universe. Like you, he also lost his original body, and can only continue to exist by confining to other bodies or objects. The Seal that holds him could have weakened, but not only is that unlikely, he would not have a powerful enough body to even leave his Netherworld anyway even if that were the case."

Trenia continued explaining further.

"If Zetta is emanating with this ability that only Baal possesses...then the real question would be how Baal can be pulling it off even if he's sealed away."

Salome mentioned. Trenia nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Baal would only be able to do that if he was confined to Zetta, or rather, the Sacred Tome. Even with the deeper connection between them would not explain how Baal could be doing all this through Zetta..."

Trenia answered, but Salome interrupted with shocked look on her face.

"What do you mean? How can Baal and Zetta have any connection to one another if they are from two completely separate generations?"

Salome questioned. Trenia turned back towards Zetta, preparing to say more when the Overlord grunted in pain for no apparent reason.

"Ugh...what is this...? This...infernal ringing...!"

Zetta growled out, his eyes closing sharply.

"I don't hear anything. What are talking about, Zetta?"

Salome said, her expression concerned. Zetta did not answer, all consciousness leaving him.

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

"Whoever's doing this...had better stop right now, because I'm really getting pissed off."

Zetta stated viciously. The ringing suddenly halted.

"Your weak...pathetically weak..."

Zetta opened his eyes quickly glaring at whoever dare call him weak, but was met with nothing.

'Not again...I'm in space, but...I'm still the Sacred Tome. Is this another dream? Dammit, and right in the middle of a conversation! Maybe I'm more sleep deprived than I thought...'

Zetta found that he could actually move.

"Okay, who the fuck said that to me? I'll have you know your dealing with the most powerful Overlord there ever was!"

Zetta shouted out. He was not given an answer for a few brief moments.

"You...will you really let them walk all over you like that once more?"

That voice came again. What unnerved Zetta so much was that the voice sounded exactly like his own.

"Who the hell is this? Stop hiding already and show yourself, asshole!"

Zetta declared.

"You've brought this all on yourself...these weaknesses...have you not learned anything, you fool!"

The figure that materialized before him was none other than his Demon self. It was almost like looking into a mirror in some sense.

'Am I...really that gorgeous...?'

Book Zetta thought to himself losing focus on the conversation, momentarily forgetting that he had just been insulted by his original body.

"You've disregarded some of the most sacred of rules upheld within Demon society. You would be the last person I ever thought to break them. Taking care of one of your enemies as if she were your own child...Falling in love with a Demon who was just a pathetic human in her former life...I'm very disappointed with you."

Demon Zetta spoke, some unknown force pulsing from his body in waves. With each pulse, Book Zetta could have sworn he was seeing his original body change into another Demon briefly. A giant silhouette of a Demon with eerie glowing red eyes. He could not dwell further on it since the pulse stopped.

"I've never been used by Trenia or Salome nor will I ever allow something like that to occur...I'm the one using them for my own personal well being. Is that not the true way of a Demon to exploit others for personal gain? Love doesn't exist for Demons like myself, so don't even dare imply I have a thing to do with Salome. Your not the real me either...I can see through your stupid illusions easily!"

Book Zetta declared. Demon Zetta chuckled darkly.

"Wrong...hah, your so messed up in the head that you have no perceiving of who the real -you- is anymore! Your such a sad sight to behold...maybe I need to remind you of the sins you committed upon yourself that should have been committed on others...show you your pathetic weak heartedness that no true Demon would possess."

Demon Zetta claimed, moving in closer ever so slightly. Book Zetta's eyes twitched between confusion and anger.

"Pathetically weak am I? Ha! We'll see who gets the last laugh, you damn imposter!"

Book Zetta said angrily. Before he could react, however, Demon Zetta charged him, smashing a fist right in between Book Zetta's eyes. Darkness overcame Book Zetta as he felt himself being hurled backwards by the force of the blow.

"Open your eyes...and witness your moment of being used by Trenia. Then you may yet finally begin to understand what she really is and to piece who you really are and what your purpose was meant for."

Demon Zetta remarked. Book Zetta prepared to retort back, but his mouth was not working.

'Son of a...not this again!'

His eyes opened and he peered at the same vastness of stars he always did whenever he was in space.

'Nothing's changed...but I feel so strange for some reason...'

He felt almost completely numb, and a strange wetness around him. A figure stood over him. A middle aged looking Demon who's hair was as red as his original body's was. Red hair framed the Demon's face, ending in a long beard at the chin, while at the back the long hair was fastened with thick blue straps, and it moved about in similar motions that reminded Zetta of Babylon's swishing tail.

'Who is this guy...he reminds me of someone slightly, but who...?'

Zetta pondered to himself, but his thoughts were interrupted when the Demon opened his eyes to look down at Zetta. Those eyes reminded him slightly of Pram's, because they were black with crimson irises.

"So...this is the boy...what a horrible fate he had to endure at the hands of...no, it doesn't matter. Trenia...I've decided that I will save his life. Please don't try and stop me."

The Demon said.

'Trenia...? She's here? Where?'

Zetta could not move so trying to locate where the girl was proved futile.

"His future is just as empty...I don't think it's right, but...he was a victim of circumstance and nothing more, I suppose...very well, if you want to save him, both his mind and body must be altered so that his life may start anew. I will only accept if you follow these terms."

He heard Trenia's voice speak out to the Demon.

'Are they...talking about me? Trenia wanted to alter my body and soul? No way...I refuse to believe that! Why...? What kind of twisted shit is this? I don't remember this happening in my life! But then again...if my memory was wiped out then of course I wouldn't remember.'

Zetta complained.

"I see...then I suppose I have little choice but to comply. This boy is still too young to experience death without ever feeling true life. And so I am willing to keep him alive at the cost of these terms you have placed."

The Demon said before he pulled out an object from within the long blue robe he wore. Zetta looked at it in abject horror.

'The Sacred Tome!'

The book was still it's original blue color. The Demon let it drop from his hands, letting it hover as it opened to a blank page. The Demon took a pencil, hesitating for a brief moment and taking a deep breath before writing his wish.

"Gaurrrgh!"

Zetta roared as his body surged with a pain even beyond his own tolerance level, his world going black.

"Do you not see it, now? She simply had him transform you from who you really were...she contributed to your current weaknesses. Will you really allow that to continue further? You've already let it get too far out of hand to begin with."

Zetta could not see his Demon self as his world was still black, but he contemplated those words spoken to him.

"Trenia...did she really do that to me...? I was dying...by the hands of that other red haired Demon? If he's an Overlord, I've never met him before, or I'd recognize that face. But why was he trying to save my life afterwards, and from who? Why did he have the Sacred Tome with him like that?"

Not a single conclusion could be drawn, which further aggravated him. His Demon self was laughing at him now.

"Why keep asking questions that only breed more questions? The fact of the matter is...Trenia is not to be trusted. Forget about her predictions of me never returning to you...it is only a matter of time before I arrive anyway. All you have to do is tell me where your Netherworld is located."

Demon Zetta stated.

"I don't think so. This is just another stupid dream like the rest of them anyway. And besides, if you really were me, you'd know the location yourself."

Book Zetta countered back.

"Hmmm...your perception seems to be coming back more clearly. You may yet be undone to the twisted webs of deceit those two have put you through and finally continue the path to become stronger. It's too bad your not quite so easily swayed when it comes to doubting that other woman, Salome."

Demon Zetta claimed.

"Whatever. Salome and me have no problem. I don't give a damn about her. She's just another Overlord. Sheesh...I don't know why I'm even talking to myself about this. Your not even my real body anyway, because my real body was destroyed in the flames that consumed my Netherworld a month ago, and it will never come back. Plus that personality of yours is way off compared to me. Your nothing but some half baked concoction of my imagination, just like that flying fortress before. I own you, not the other way around, so why don't you just disappear already and let me wake up or just have a pleasant dream for once? Go on, get the fuck out of here."

Book Zetta ordered. With that, the force binding him subsided and he could open his eyes, finding himself still in space. He looked around, not seeing his Demon imposter.

"Well looks like I'll be getting a pleasant dream about sleeping out in the universe. Who cares about the irony of it, just as long as there's peace and quiet!"

Zetta declared, closing his eyes.

"Then why did you save her and return her Mana energy?"

Zetta opened his eyes in surprise, finding himself face to face once more with his Demon side.

"Any normal Overlord would have taken all that power at the cost of the person's life, yet you did not. She is an even greater weakness to you than Trenia will ever be. You know it to be true. Now gaze upon your other moment of weak heartedness."

With that, Demon Zetta disappeared, replaced by Pram in her more bestial form, her body radiating with white energy. Trenia was standing behind her.

'This is...'

Zetta realized he was witnessing the time when Pram declared she would revive Salome for him. His body automatically looked to see Salome within the Gate of the Dead. Seedle's battle cry sounded soon after.

"DIE!"

Zetta automatically turned to see Seedle charging at Pram. His body then went forward to shield her from the blow. The damage dealt to his book body went to both Seedle and Pram, yet oddly didn't affect Trenia, now that he noticed it more clearly. Both Overlords were sent reeling back from the backlash.

"Damn...she's still conscious."

Seedle said as he stood up, watching Pram. She was breathing heavily, her aura fading slightly, only to return back to normal and kept generating with Mana power.

"Zetta you have to hold him off somehow...one more hit with that much power will knock me out for sure, and then the wish won't be granted."

Pram warned him. Zetta heard himself growl.

"Dammit...if I'm hit, I lose the ability to confine anyone. I can't...do anything."

He said, his tone hopeless. Seedle laughed at him at this point.

"Zetta, you've always been far too weak to stop my ambitions. Here and now, it doesn't matter who I strike, either way, The Oracle's wish won't come true and Salome will be gone forever. You should have just turned your back, Zetta, after you had been strengthened from your battle with Salome."

Seedle said smugly.

"How the hell did you figure that out so fast?"

He responded to the Samurai Overlord.

'Stop this...I've seen it already.'

Zetta said to himself, but everything kept going as he remembered it, from Alex's interference to Salome's rebirth. His body once again stood before him.

"You should have had your way with her and then killed her when the two of you first met. Now she's taken over too much of your own heart. She will drain you completely of the Mana you worked so hard to obtain and leave you high and dry. Her influences upon you have gotten even more out of hand than Trenia's have. They must both die."

Demon Zetta stated, his eyes narrowing and becoming darker and darker. Book Zetta turned away from him.

"Shut up! I thought I told you to go away already!"

He began moving away, hearing the displeased sigh of his imposter.

"I see...I guess it's fortunate you were destined to die then."

Demon Zetta said with an all knowing tone in his arrogant voice.

"What...?"

Book Zetta turned swiftly around to face Demon Zetta with disbelief in his eyes. Demon Zetta's lips turned into a smirk.

"You heard me. You were destined to die..."

His eyes flared crimson as his form began to change into the massive shadowy black giant.

"...BY MY HAND!"

Before Zetta could react, the black beast swallowed him into darkness.

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

His eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the bright light overhead. He was lying down naked on a cold steel bed, though the back of his body had already adjusted to the sensations, numbing them out. He lifted himself into a sitting position as the sliding door opened, a Prinny doctor stepping inside.

"Your awake much earlier than usual, Lord Zetta...!"

Before the Prinny doctor could finish, a large hand clamped over his neck (not that prinnies have much of a neck to begin with anyway), crushing his passage of air. The Prinny doctor writhed about as he dangled in the air, gagging. He stared into the ice cold gaze of the Overlord.

"Lord...Zetta...? I...can't..."

The Prinny doctor's eyes dilated as he felt his body beginning to go limp. He said the only thing that came to mind at that point.

"Please...Lord...Baal..."

Before the Prinny doctor could say anymore, he was released, smacking against the floor audibly before going through coughing fits as air painfully filled his lungs again. He looked back up into the eyes of the Overlord in possession of Zetta's body once his coughing fits subsided..

"Lord Baal, is it really you, dood?"

The Prinny doctor asked. Zetta-Baal left the bed to stand at full height.

"For the time being, I was able to tap into -his- subconscious even further now and force -him- into a deep sleep, but there's no telling when -he- will become aware again..."

Zetta-Baal said as he surveyed the room, finding his clothes hung up in a small locker.

"...-he- must be found. Did you manage to interrogate the Overlord from the Underworld?"

Zetta-Baal questioned as he began putting his clothes on.

"Unfortunately, we found no trace of him, dood."

The Prinny doctor said nervously. Zetta-Baal spared him a slight glance.

"Did you even look? That Overlord was injured badly and couldn't have gotten far...! Hmph! Your incompetence matters little...there are still plenty of Netherworlds that remain and they will all be scoured of their Overlords until I find -him-. It has been awhile since I've had any fun, after all. Once -he- dies, this accursed side effect should disappear, and this universe will be annihilated. Then the next objective can be met."

Zetta-Baal threw on the last remnants of clothes before leaving to head back to the bridge.

'Hm...good move on Trenia's part to try and erase his memories by using Babylon as the wish maker, though. They only succeeded in fragmenting his mind, but it still prevented him from completely falling under my control none the less. They will not be the only interferences any longer...that Salome has weeded her way into his heart through the chasm Babylon and Trenia carved into his memories ages ago. That woman will most likely prove the greatest nuisance...hah, but I WILL have my way in the end. There is no stopping the events that have been put into motion...'

A violet flame began arising around his palm.

"...there is no stopping the Overlord of Legends, Baal! Ha ha ha...HA HA HA HA!"

:ToBeContinued:

Note: A long and confusing chapter...unfortunately, it's just mostly the plot kicking in without any real shred of action to go along with it. Baal does finally speak a little bit, but otherwise, I guess there isn't much else worthy to note.


	6. Alexander The Tyrant

Strongest

Chapter 6: Alexander The Tyrant

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room

:MK:CST:

"Zetta! Zetta! Please wake up!"

Salome shouted as she held on to him, but her plea was never answered, and Zetta remained unmoving. The female Overlord turned back to face Trenia.

"Trenia...what's wrong with him? His breathing is so shallow...it's not an ordinary sleep habit of his. Something is definitely wrong."

She said to the little girl. Both of their faces mirrored the same expression of worry and concern. Trenia bit into her bottom lip softly as she lowered her head in thought.

'What's happening...? It has to be Baal, but how...? How can he have this influence over Zetta when Babylon made the wish in accordance to my terms? I...'

The little girl's thoughts were interrupted.

"Trenia...please...there has to be something we can do."

Salome said, clutching Zetta closer to her body. Trenia took a deep breath, regaining her composure.

"Lady Salome, please go to Overlord Valvoga's Netherworld and retrieve him. Talk to Ophelia, and tell her that I want her to assist you. If she's reluctant, just mention Baal's name and it should settle any problems. Bring Valvoga back here...no, in fact, take him to your Netherworld and be prepared for a battle at any given moment. This is Baal's doing, somehow. No one other than him would be able to...and he must not be allowed anywhere near Zetta, so please leave him here."

Trenia instructed. Salome looked very reluctant.

"But..."

Salome was not allowed to finish as Trenia cut into her argument.

"Please, Lady Salome, you must hurry. Put Zetta back in his bed and then go to Valvoga. Or this entire universe will be devoured by the jaws of the black beast...this is the best way to protect Zetta."

Trenia stated as she turned away. Her final words sobered Salome to complete attention.

"Where are you heading? Aren't you going to watch over Zetta?

Salome asked. Trenia shook her head.

"I am going to Babylon's Netherworld to retrieve him. We'll both meet you and Valvoga on your Netherworld."

Trenia informed her. Before the female Overlord could say anything further, a crimson fire enveloped around Trenia's body and she was gone, teleporting to Babylon's Netherworld.

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Personal Chambers (a.k.a Zetta's Room)

:MK:CST:

Salome did as instructed and placed Zetta in the closest coffin in his room. She looked down at him for a few brief seconds, contemplating briefly if she should disregard Trenia's instructions and stay with him here.

'Trenia knows more about Baal than I could ever hope to grasp, so I should just do as she says. Still...I'm curious as to why she would want me to talk to Ophelia the most. Does Ophelia also have some kind of connection with Baal? Maybe when I meet with them I can ask, and maybe also learn what the deeper connection Trenia mentioned between Baal and Zetta is as well.'

She thought to herself. She looked down at Zetta a bit longer, before instinctively lowering her head, sealing her lips against Zetta's in a feather light kiss.

'Zetta...I will protect you with all of my being. I just hope it will be enough to deal against that mysterious Demon, Baal. So, please remain safe, Zetta.'

She ended the kiss, closing the coffin door as light surrounded her body, and teleporting herself away to Valvoga's Netherworld.

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

'Dammit, what the fuck was that? Where am I now?'

Zetta cursed, thrashing around wildly as he remained surrounded in darkness, though not for long, eyes opening to find himself overlooking Prinnies working about on their consoles. Zetta realized he was in his body again, sitting in a steel throne in the Bridge area of the Yoshitsuna (though he didn't know it's name yet...heck, he still thinks it's all a dream).

'Well I'll be...I had a dream within a dream. First it was with that weird imposter, thought I have to admit he was one handsome looking Devil to be sure. That's simply because he was in the spitting image of your's truly! But what the hell happened to him at the end there? It was like he turned into some giant black...thing, for a lack of better words. Anyway, now I'm back in my dream body again, pun completely intended. Although I still can't move myself...'

He thought, trying to will his body to move by his own accord again. His right hand Prinny came to stand beside him, holding some papers.

"Lord B..."

Before the Prinny could say anything else, Zetta's arm came out and smacked the Prinny so hard he smashed against the wall with a loud thud. Luckily, the papers that the Prinny was holding were stapled, or else a large mess would have to be cleaned up. The Prinny looked up to him in surprise, and Zetta's mind was exactly the same way.

'What the hell did I do that for? Well, I mean...I am an Overlord after all so I am expected to command all authority by any necessary ways I see fit, but...oh well, it is my dream, so I guess it's to be expected.'

Zetta concluded to himself. The Prinny looked very frightened for a few moments.

"Lord...Zetta, dood?"

The Prinny said uncertainly. Zetta's head turned away from the Prinny, though his palm remained upright as if waiting for something. The Prinny composed himself as he went to stand by Zetta again, leaving the papers in Zetta's open palm. The Overlord brought the pages to his eyes looking at the image of another Netherworld. Zetta's mind was surprised yet again.

'That's...Alex's Netherworld. This is way out of character for me...I've never actually gone to his Netherworld ever in my entire life. Tch! There I go again thinking this is all real again when it isn't. Hm...I wonder what would actually happen if I ever went to assault Alex's Netherworld every couple of thousand of years or so. Just for a change of pace since he's ALWAYS attacking me on my Netherworld. Though this entire month since we last met, he hasn't really been doing anything, now that I think on it more. I was at my most vulnerable, too...Heh, oh well...this may still prove to be an interesting dream none the less!'

:MK:CST:

Alexander's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Thunder God Haven

:MK:CST:

"Well...guess I'll be off then."

Alexander, the Overlord known by many as the God of Destruction, said to his vassals.

"About time you did, too. I was getting pretty darn annoyed with you just laying around sighing all day for one whole month doing nothing but waiting until your arch nemesis finally re-composed himself as the strongest Overlord."

This was Alastor, Alex's kid brother, and Alex's left hand man.

(Mini-Note: Alastor is the name I decided to give the little boy who shows up in Alexander's picture at the credit screen of the Good Ending in the game. I just got it while scrolling through the dictionary. Alastor is, in Greek Mythology, a vengeful deity that's the masculine personification of Nemesis. Also, if I remember correctly, it's the name of a lightning powered sword in the game Devil May Cry. Guess it's only fitting then...but if anyone actually knows what that little boy's real name is, let me know so I can edit this chapter.)

"Shut up, squirt. I wasn't that depressed."

Alex snarled in anger. This in turn caused Alastor to start fuming.

"Stop treating me like a kid!"

The boy growled out. Alex just smirked.

"Uh, hello, Al? You still ARE a kid!"

Before the two could butt heads, Alex's right hand man, the Thunder Giant Raiden, stepped in between the two.

"Masters, please, just let it be. You need to save your strength for Zetta anyway, Lord Alexander."

Raiden said, and the two calmed down. Even though in terms of rank, Alastor and Raiden were equals, Raiden always referred to the other vassal as Master since he was related to Alex after all.

"Alright, fine...you better hope Salome ain't there with him, or your in for a world of hurt."

Al snickered, using that one little piece of information that he knew would get Alex all riled up, since he never did quite get over the fact that he lost one time to a female Demon who was a human in her former life and also Zetta's former apprentice. It worked wonders against Alex's ego, too.

"You little...hah, your lucky I have to leave. You'll get what's coming to you in the near future, though, count on it!"

Alex said after getting his anger under control again a second time.

"Yeah sure, whatever. Try to make this fight the tie breaker finally, okay? Something you could have easily done had you attacked Zetta earlier. I still don't get why you just didn't do that and get it over with. You afraid of him or something?"

Al asked. Alex shook his head, clearly annoyed with his sibling.

"You'll truly understand what I'm about to say when you get an arch rival of your own. They just aren't any fun to duel with when they are too preoccupied with other things. I want to prove that I can beat Zetta at his strongest, and then I'll become the strongest...no, I'll surpass him. I'll be even more Bad-Ass than Zetta ever could dream to be!"

Alex affirmed, his arms crackling with electricity as his anticipation grew. Before he could teleport to Zetta's Netherworld, however, another Thunder Giant came bursting through the double doors of the room.

"Lord Alexander, we're under attack!"

The Thunder Giant said urgently. Alex growled irritably.

"Ah, damn! Why now of all times...? Well, who the hell's attacking us?"

Alex demanded.

"Uh...it's a bunch of Prinnies."

The Thunder Giant said nervously. Raiden narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure? Prinnies aren't that bloodthirsty to start wars. They aren't really much up for doing anything in all honesty..."

Raiden said.

"Please, Lord Alexander. These Prinnies are..."

Before the Thunder Giant could implore anything else, he was shot in the back of the throat, before falling on his stomach and fading away. A Prinny with a rifle came into view.

"Dood..."

Was all it said. Alex and the other two noticed a whole bunch of white dots in the darkened hallway, realizing they were eyes, which meant a whole swarm of Prinnies were awaiting them.

"Oh shit..."

Alex muttered. Raiden gulped.

"You can say that again."

The Thunder Giant said. Alex's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'd rather not. Come on, it's time to kick some Prinny ass."

Alex declared, six lighting orbs surrounded him and swirling around his body, each sphere turning into a golden rimmed drum with a thunder symbol pattern on each of them. These forms of drums were called Angel Beat. Al and Raiden also performed similar actions, summoning a Devil Beat and a Dragon Beat, respectively. The drums swirled around their bodies in a ring like formation.

"Alright, my left and right hands, follow my lead!"

Alex demanded as he hovered in the air before rushing at the Prinny infested hall, the drums following behind him in a single file order. Two drums came to Alex's sides as he beat against their surface with his palms, the other four drums went ahead of Alex, pulsing with electricity before powerful bolts lanced out of their surfaces and striking the Prinnies at random. Al and Raiden mimicked the actions as they flew after the God of Destruction.

:MK:CST:

Alexander's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, first floor near entrance

:MK:CST:

"Damn Prinnies. There's no end to them."

Al complained, his drums transforming into a large ring of pure lightning that he made gyrate around his hips to take down some surrounding Prinnies that tried to swarm him. His lightning hoop cut them down like a knife through butter.

"I'm forced to agree, Master Alastor."

Raiden said as he tapped against his Dragon Beat, making six orbs generate off their surfaces before he shot them two at a time that created a decent sized explosion that caught a bunch of other Prinnies in it's blast radius.

"Just be patient. We're almost there."

Alex said as he brought his hands up in front of him, beating one of the drums of his Angel Beat as the other five swirled about in front of him, creating a force field that shocked any Prinny that came close to the vicinity. Alex was actually gathering energy with each Prinny that was foolish enough to come towards his generated barrier and tried to strike it down. Alex had a small grin on his face as his force field became unstable, and with one final hit of the drum he used made the force field explode with a large shock wave that decimated the remaining Prinny army along the castle ground. Once that was done, Alex hovered over the rest of the dead bodies, both of his army that had been slain in the surprise attack by the Prinnies and the Prinnies that he himself slain.

"Damn...These Prinnies are a lot different compared to the typical ones."

Alex said to himself as he went to the front doors.

"Yeah. Not only were they fighting with superior numbers, but also with a lot more intelligence than normal as well."

Raiden agreed.

"Hey, big bro, we should get going and see if anyone on our side is still alive."

Al said.

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

'Ugh...again with all the waiting. Come on Alex...hurry up and get these Prinnies back up here. I know your better than this.'

Zetta's body waited at the end of the large nose of the Battleship as it hovered among the clouds, the Genesis being supported right beside him as his left hand rested over the pommel of it. The clouds below were starting to become dark, churning around in the sky with the scent of rain as thunder boomed in the distance. A storm was coming.

:MK:CST:

Alexander's Netherworld, Spire Mountain

:MK:CST:

"So this is where the bulk of the fighting is taking place..."

Raiden commented. Most of Alex's army were doing pretty good halting the Prinny invasion, though the number of troops at Alex's disposal were dropping rather quickly thanks to heavy laser fire from Justice Gear classed tanks. Backing up the Justice Gears were Sound Blaster vehicles that threw many magicians out of whack with their sound wave attacks, which in turn prevented magic users from attacking from long range with magic, and allowing the well armed Justice Gears to close in further.

"What the hell is that thing in the clouds?"

Alex spoke up as he saw the large black battleship descend slightly, dropping more vehicles to assist the Prinnies.

"Whatever it might be, it's sending reinforcements. It has to be taken down."

Raiden said. Alex nodded in agreement. Al looked to the darkened sky, sniffing the cool air.

"It's gonna rain soon. Along with a storm. I'm starting to feel sorry for those Prinnies. They haven't got a clue to what their going to be hit by."

The young boy said. Alex already was aware of this, and had a slight grin on his face, his destructive nature starting to show in his eyes as they faintly glowed.

"That thing's going down alright! Raiden, get all of our forces to retreat. Al, come with me. We're gonna do some storm cloud hunting!"

Alex flew to the blackened clouds overhead, Al not far behind him. Raiden played the retreating song on his drums. The remaining troops quickly did what the song allowed them to do, and they all fled across the field and up the mountain top, though they were easily being followed by the mobile vehicles even as the rain came and made the ground soft and muddy. The God of Destruction and his brother took a good chunk of the storm clouds with them, beating against their drums to summon a large, destructive ray of amplified lightning through they cloud they rode on. The lightning tore through the ground and enemy forces alike with the greatest of ease, until not a single Prinny or vehicle was left on the hell torn battlefield. Then the two set their sights for the massive battleship peeking through the dark clouds.

'Here goes nothing...'

Alex thought to himself as he steered the cloud towards the battleship. He turned back to face Al.

"Hey, little bro, we'll attack that thing up high first. Because it's above the storm, these clouds will disperse after a short time, so we'll need to head back down here and attack it low afterwards. If we keep revolving around in a circle, that thing's sure to go down in a little bit."

He said, before breaking through the surface of the clouds. He didn't attack it immediately like he thought he would. Al bumped into him on the way up.

"Hey, why did you stop?"

The young boy asked, but Alex never responded. He simply stared at the figure that stood on the edge of the large ship.

"So...you were the one who commanded those Prinnies...the one in control of...whatever that thing is...and you've even gotten your body back..."

Alex said softly, his eyes wide with awe as he looked towards Zetta, who's head was lowered as if he fell asleep standing up. Alex went from looking surprised to smirking arrogantly, his eyes gleaming with joy.

"I never thought you would actually come all the way here for a change, but that's fine with me...ZETTA!"

Alex had been so overjoyed with the chance to square things off with Zetta, he wasn't even aware of strange silence the Overlord had taken. The God of Destruction rushed over to the Overlord, his drums circling around him as electricity crackled all over his body and his battle cry echoing through the entire sky. Zetta remained deathly calm, only lifting his head slightly and opening his empty eyes to meet with Alex's gaze, as a black-violet flame like aura began emanating from the Genesis.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Eh, it's okay, but not nearly as good as the Seedle fight scenes. Well the sword type weapons are a lot easier to write about in comparison to using the drums, which are Alex's preferred weapon of choice in the game. I didn't want to make the drums completely like they were in the context of the game either, so instead of being connected in that kind of web like shaped thing on the backs of the characters who equip them, I decided to make them disconnected and moving around, and Alex being in complete control of their movements. Hopefully readers may be able to understand this more clearly in the next chapter's fight scene, as this one's only a filler chapter to it, so it doesn't reveal much. Another thing I don't like in this chapter is that I feel as if I made Alex and Raiden possibly too much out of character, so if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears. And like I wrote in the mini-note, if anyone knows the canon name of the little boy who appears in Alex's picture in the Good Ending credits, please let me know, and maybe some background information on him if there is any...


	7. Alexander's Rage

Strongest

Chapter 7: Alexander's Rage

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of character from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

'Good, Alex is finally here...but who's the brat that's with him? They look related...'

Zetta couldn't finish his thoughts as Alex closed the distance. Zetta's body reacted, jumping up into the air. Alex touched the edge of the battleship Zetta had been at seconds ago, before jumping up after the now airborne Overlord. He beat on his drums to send a lightning bolt towards Zetta, who narrowly evaded the attack before rushing towards Alex with blistering speed. The Overlord swung down with his blade, but Alex erected a barrier to defend from the strike, and the two flew past each other only to circle around quickly and attack once more.

"Wow...they're so fast..."

Al murmured softly to himself. It was one thing to hear about the battles his brother talked about having with Zetta, but it was a whole new experience to witness the real thing. Alex fought at a completely different level than Al ever experienced when the two of them would spar with each other. This was also the first time he had to take a look at the self proclaimed strongest Overlord. Zetta was quite a bit more imposing than Al actually thought, and something about him worried the young boy. The Zetta he was witnessing was not the arrogant loud mouth Overlord who's only redeeming quality was his tremendous level of Mana power as so many claimed him to be. This Zetta was calm, precise and had yet to say a single word or even yell out a battle cry when he attacked. His abilities were impossible for Al to deduce. After a long standstill battle, Alex had stopped and Zetta complied, wordless as ever and eyes betraying nothing. This was irritating the God of Destruction.

"What gives, Zetta? I thought I once told you that silence was for losers. You've always had a lot to say in the past, so why don't you say anything now? And Why the serious expression? Your hardly serious to begin with. Is something wrong?"

Alex asked. Zetta remained silent, earning a growl to leave his adversary's mouth.

"I asked you a fucking question! Answer me!"

Alex said darkly. Zetta did, though with his sword rather than words. He was upon Alex quicker than the God of Destruction anticipated, sword held in both hands. Alex barely had enough time to erected another barrier, but Zetta's attack was so powerful it destroyed the shield to leave Alex exposed. Alex was left with a long gash running diagonally across his torso. The force behind the Overlord's attack was enough to send Alex through the black clouds as well.

"BROTHER!"

Al soared through the clouds after Alex's body.

'That's the first time I've shattered that damn shield of Alex's in one strike near the early part of a fight in order to draw first blood, but then again this is a dream, so what was I expecting? And it would seem the little brat is his brother after all...although, he made just be another figment of my imagination. Hah! Who cares?'

Zetta thought to himself as his body began to descend through the clouds as well.

:MK:CST:

Alexander's Netherworld, Outskirts of Spire Mountain

:MK:CST:

Alex spiraled down head first at an amazing rate. Zetta's attack had been more brutal than he expected.

'What the...? Damn, that's never happened before. Were my sparring matches with Al and Raiden not enough to build up more power? What about those backwater planets I took under my control? I shouldn't be this weak...Zetta must have only recently gotten his body back as well if no word has got out about it...it shouldn't have even been possible with Trenia's prediction...Grrr, none of this is making sense! I know Zetta's the stronger one, but he shouldn't have gotten this much power in such a short time...could this be Salome's doing again? No, he wouldn't have allowed it to happen again once he knew. So..why? And what's up with his strange behavior? If this wasn't such a serious duel I'd be laughing my ass off.'

Alex finally brought himself up right.

"I've gotta retain my focus. Zetta's not fighting along with just raw emotions any longer, so neither can I. That's the most likely reason for my carelessness back there, but I won't let it happen again. I'm better than that..."

Alex's dark blue eyes shone with (literally) sparks of determination he looked to the dark clouds, knowing that down here, he had the advantage.

"I'm better than you, Zetta. I will prove I have what it takes to be the next Strongest Overlord."

Alex expected Zetta to come down first but it ended up being Al.

"Hey Alex! You Okay?"

Al asked. Alex sighed.

"You act as if this wound was serious. It's just a scratch, Al. Why? Is my little bro actually worried about my well being? I'm touched."

Alex said in a joking manner. Al growled as his cheeks went slight crimson.

"Shut up!"

The boy said, but it only made Alex chuckle.

"Keh...your still such a kid."

Alex said back. Before any more comments could be made, Zetta descended quickly, ripping through the clouds with enough force to make some disperse and allow the sun light to shine in on the muddy landscape for a brief moment before the clouds swallowed up the light once more and leaving the Overlord's hair and garments heavy and damp from the falling rain. Everyone who had retreated to the mountain stared in awe at Zetta's appearance, questions filling their heads as to why he came to Alex's Netherworld and why he had his original body again. Questions that had been in Alex's head prior when he met Zetta aboard the strange colossal Battleship hovering just above the clouds. Al looked back in surprise as Zetta stood just in front of him.

"Al, get out of the way! Your interfering with our duel."

Al heard Alex call up to him. The boy obliged, and would have flown back to the mountain of his own accord had the next incident not occurred. Al didn't even see as Zetta's arm reeled back, and was then greeted with complete darkness as Zetta backhanded him so hard, his body went flailing back towards the mountain. Everyone gasped in surprise, not believing they had just witnessed an Overlord hit a child with so much excessive force.

"No...!"

Raiden was able to snap out of his trance as he flew toward his young master, catching him in his massive arms before the mountain could. Raiden flew back to the top, depositing the boy on the slick ground. Blood was trickling from the side of Al's head.

"Master Alastor! MASTER ALASTOR!"

Raiden called out, but the boy did not answer him. A Healer came beside the boy and examined him.

"His breathing is shallow, but he'll live. If not for his intense sparring matches with you and Lord Alexander, he may not have had the power to survive such a blow to the side of the head. If he did survive, he might have been permanently brain damaged, but he'll be just fine...but how...? How can someone be so cruel...?"

The Healer looked to Raiden with such confusion in her gaze, and everyone there mirrored her gaze as they looked to Raiden as he was the only one who among them who fought Zetta personally and still lived. Raiden looked to Al.

"That...isn't the Zetta I fought...this Zetta is below a Demon...he is nothing but a mindless beast. But his power is undeniable...I know I've said plenty of times that I fear only for the young master, but here and now that is not the case...I now fear for Lord Alexander's safety as well. If he is in too much trouble at any moment, we must be ready to interfere, understand? Disregard any order he may give you otherwise."

Raiden said firmly as he looked into the eyes of his fellow soldiers and other comrades. He then turned to shout out to Alex that Al was okay, but Alex could not hear him. His mind was elsewhere as his eyes were trained on the still outstretched arm of Zetta.

"...Zetta...you..."

Alex's teeth were clenched tightly together, and his fists were closed so hard that his fingers bit into the flesh of his palms, drawing blood. Alex's eyes remained fixated on Zetta's hand, seeing the slight stain of blood on the knuckles that were being washed away with the rain. His brother's blood. Alex vision became filled with nothing but crimson, and the storm became more violent as if in tune with his emotions. His lust for destruction was welling up within him, that lust being aimed at ending Zetta's life.

"...SON OF A BITCH!"

Alex snarled viciously, his arms moving across the drums of his Angel Beat and making lightning resonate with his red hatred. Zetta turned towards the sky as light washed over him, seeing a massive lightning bolt descending on his location. The Overlord was engulfed in the destructive energy that sent him crashing into the ground and uplifting a geyser of mud and earth. Alex did not let up, and kept sending lightning bolt after lightning bolt to pound into Zetta's body. Zetta's mind never felt any of the pain as he was too shaken when he witnessed Al's near demise, the event triggering something he did not understand, as his world became black.

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

'What...is this..feeling? When that brat was struck down I felt so...why? Why did my body do that? No Demon does that, nor do they even dream about it. That brat was just an innocent in my duel with Alex...what's this hollow pain that seems to be gnawing away at me...?'

Zetta's head felt like it exploded a few times too many while the rest of his body felt as if blades of ice were pierced through him. Only one sound greeted his ears. His own breathing.

"Where...?"

His voice was scratchy and dry, but oddly sounded like a child's voice at the same time. A vertical line of light pierced the darkness of his vision and expanded like an opening door.

'Who...?'

Zetta realized he was standing, but he felt so short for some reason. No one was at the door, but the light hurt his eyes yet would not close of their own accord. He automatically looked to his arms and was surprised to see them so stubby and short, lined with many wounds. He realized he was in the body of a child. A very dark skinned child.

'What the fuck...!'

Zetta seemed to be only be able to think. A shadow fell over his form and he looked up, seeing a Demon standing in the bright doorway. This demon looked somewhat like his adult form would, but the hair was different. It was a dark blue that was so dark it could pass off as almost being black, and even thought it was long, it lacked the wild fiery quality of his red hair. A mass of hair fell over the right side of the Demon's face, hiding one eye from view, while the other eye that was visible looked exactly like Zetta's own. It was devoid of a pupil and had the same black tattoo like marking cover around it. The Demon's skin was tanned a very dark brown like the child's own skin, and two large horn like protrusions extended out from the top of his shoulders. The clothing was near identical to Zetta's as well, except they were completely red save for the golden buckles of his leather straps. Zetta wasn't sure what to think right now. All he knew was that he was in a kid like body and covered in many wounds of different natures that reminded him of his pain tolerance tests, as well as that the strange Demon in front of him bore some resemblance to his adult self. Before Zetta could say anymore, the Demon spoke.

"Does it hurt, boy? Or are you finally showing some resilience to your injuries?"

The Demon asked, though his voice lacked any kind of caring in his voice.

"Why do I have to keep doing these things?"

His voice spoke out automatically, and it made Zetta ponder.

'Is this...a memory of mine? Of my childhood? No...can't be. I'd never forget a face or name once I've seen a person already, and this guy doesn't draw up any familiarity. Who the hell is he? And what is all this? I have no childhood to remember...plus I've never had such dark skin in my life. Who's memories are these?'

Zetta came back to attention as the Demon walked further into the pitch black room.

"Answer me. I was the one who asked the first question, and it is you who is to provide the first answer, not question me back."

The Demon's voice now became slightly stern. Zetta's voice spoke up again.

"It still hurts..."

He said. His voice was enough to make Zetta gag mentally.

'Could this...really be me? Damn, I sound like a complete weakling! No way...who the hell do these stupid memories belong to?'

Zetta saw nothing more than that except for the back of a hand that struck him across the face and sent him careening into the darkness. That Demon's hit had been exactly the same way his original body struck Al. He was left in such surprise, his mind went numb.

'What is this feeling? Is this...fear?'

Zetta could feel the overwhelming emotion that was completely foreign to him.

"You pathetic Demon. Where is your conviction? You do want to become the strongest don't you? Then you must hurry and become immune to the pain, a solid wall of powered flesh that can shrug off any attack at any moment. Until you've obtained it, your nothing more than a pathetic child. Are you not willing enough to become the strongest? To become the Almighty?"

Zetta heard the Demon say with growing fury in his tone. Zetta's own anger started to peak when he heard those words, and it overpowered the fear of the pathetic child's body he occupied.

'My convictions...? You...fucking idiot! I am already the strongest! I've proven my dedication years ago. I don't know what kind of stupid dream this is, but I ain't being fooled. This is complete and utter bullshit!'

Zetta growled deeply, wanting so badly to speak and blow that Demon to smithereens. He willed his eyes to open, and they did. Zetta found himself in space again, and in his book body. He was breathing in and out sharply.

"Fuck...what the hell is going on with me?"

He muttered to himself. It was so hard to perceive reality from fantasy and his mind felt slightly hazy, as if he had slept for a thousand years or so.

"What did you see?"

Zetta heard his own voice speak out to him, and he turned around, his eyes narrowing as he saw his imposter.

"You again...what the hell is going on with me?"

Book Zetta questioned. Demon Zetta looked smug.

"Oh? I though you didn't believe in me."

He spoke back. Book Zetta snarled.

"I don't...but you seem to have all the answers anyway. Now tell me what the hell is going on with me."

Book Zetta demanded quietly but sternly, wanting an answer. Demon Zetta turned away, looking at something Book Zetta could not see.

"That boy that was struck brought up a long dormant piece of your fragmented memory. I thought you would understand this by now after you witnessed what was done to you already, but you still remain adamant. Your memories are also starting to become a burden to our body's function. So unfortunately, you must sleep now."

Demon Zetta declared, making Book Zetta's fury flare up.

"I'll put YOU to sleep! You lying sack of shit!"

With that, Book Zetta used a Zetta Beam to strike his imposter in the back. Demon Zetta shattered into a million tiny fragments that soon faded away.

"Finally. I should have done that when he first showed himself."

Zetta said to himself, sighing in relief.

"Sleep now...unto the darkness of which you were born."

Zetta turned around, half expecting to have to blow his imposter to bits again, but he was wrong. It was the red clad Demon that looked disturbingly enough like him.

"You...!"

Zetta spat out, completely taken by surprise. The Demons empty eyes mirrored each other.

"Your time of destruction will come soon enough...but for now, just sleep..."

The Demon said.

"Piss off!"

Zetta said, his eyes glowing as he fired off another Zetta Beam. The attack passed right through the Demon, however. Zetta stiffened when he saw the Demon slowly become enshrouded in darkness from the feet upward, his form changing.

"Sleep..."

The giant black beast replaced the Demon, holding up a massive arm. It then fell over Zetta, who growled irritably.

"Bastard...who are you?"

Zetta shot another Zetta Beam, but it could not penetrate the darkness that was the beast's body. Soon Zetta was struck and surrounded in the darkness once more, mind being put into a deep and dreamless state.

:MK:CST:

Alexander's Netherworld, Outskirts of Spire Mountain.

:MK:CST:

What Zetta hadn't realized was that the fight had been continuing between his body and Alex. The God of Destruction suffered only some minor injuries to add along as the fight progressed, but the Overlord was being throughly shocked as Alex used the storm to amplify his already significantly powerful attacks. Zetta had fallen again, and tried to get up but could only achieve a kneeling position.

"Seems I finally got you Zetta. You shouldn't have held back so much power. Power that will soon belong to me."

Alex said softly as stood before the Overlord, kicking him on his back while his drums retrained the Overlord's limbs. Alex took the Genesis from Zetta's weak grasp, holding the giant blade in the air.

"You took my brother's life, and now I'm gonna take your's."

Alex aimed the blade at Zetta's chest, before preparing to plunge the weapon into the Overlord's body. Baal had taken the complete control again, however, and brought his hands up to halt the attack. Zetta-Baal smirked, knowing that Alex was in for a rude awakening when he realized just who he was really dealing with. A power that far surpassed the God of Destruction's own.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Sorry about the late update. I wanted to have more of the Alex fight in this chapter, but the scene between Zetta and Baal was also very important to show more of the connection between them and could only happen in this scene when Al is struck down by Zetta's body. Unfortunately, their scene ended up being a bit longer than I originally anticipated, so I decided to hold the major fight in chapter eight instead. Sorry about that, but I feel if I put the fight in now, it'll make the chapter just way too long. Also sorry about how Alex and Raiden are still so out of character. If I could just get everything right, this chapter would be a whole lot better but I am unfortunately still just a lowly human who makes mistakes...oh well, that's just the way things are. Hopefully this small update is enjoyable for the time being, and I'll try to get the next chapter up when I can.


	8. Alexander's Last Stand

Strongest

Chapter 8: Alexander's Last Stand

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of character from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought and/or Telepathy

:MK:CST:

Alexander's Netherworld, Outskirts of Spire Mountain

:MK:CST:

Alex never even saw it coming, being too busy to try and impale the Genesis into his adversary's heart. An eruption of black flames was released from Zetta-Baal's body, sending the God of Destruction flying back like a rag doll. He went skipping across the ground like a flat rock across a water surface, only instead, geyser after geyser of mud was spewing up into the air whenever he touched ground. After the fourth one, Alex took to the sky after getting over his initial shock.

"Shit...he got me pretty good."

The God of Destruction muttered, his body caked with mud. The Overlord was upon him in an instant, hand clenched tightly around Alex's neck, bringing him closer to collide heads. Alex was sent farther back by the impressive head-butt, and Zetta-Baal thrust forward with his weapon. Alex slammed his left fist against the blunt of the Genesis to knock it off course while his right hand hit one of his drums to send a weak but quick lightning jolt through the Overlord's body. It had little effect, but it allowed Alex to coil up both feet against his body before striking a stunned Zetta-Baal across the face, increasing the space between them so Alex could launch some of his stronger drum and lightning attack spells. He did just that as he pounded the drums in a certain order. Zetta-Baal charged at him, but the God of Destruction was able to send a massive lightning bolt right at the Overlord at near point blank range. Zetta-Baal was able to narrowly bring his weapon up to guard, though that action did very little as the electricity ran up the blade to transfer the attack to Zetta-Baal's body through his arms.

"Hah! Let's see you get out of this quickly Zetta!"

Alex boasted. His words had been spoken too soon, as the Overlord threw his sword down to the ground to which the lightning was the most attracted to. The electric current sped down to the blade that thrust into the earth, leaving Alex vulnerable, and Zetta-Baal capitalized on the opportunity as he rushed over to Alex. The Overlord grabbed each side of Alex's head before sending a knee to smash Alex right in the chin. The God of Destruction went reeling back from the force behind the blow. Alex recovered as quickly as possible to intercept the Overlord, but he was nowhere in sight. Even the sword was gone. The God of Destruction began frantically looking around, knowing his rival was not one to simply give up and back down. Hearing the rustle of fabric Alex whirled around, seeing Zetta-Baal already charging at him with blade thrust forward. Alex ascended to evade at the last possible moment, unleashing a giant surge of lightning to rip free from the clouds to engulf both of them. Alex absorbed the energy for a temporary extra boost to his Mana power, while Zetta-Baal was damaged by it. The Overlord began to ponder about his opponent in a normal tone, now that the original Zetta was put to sleep by Zetta-Baal's own will.

'So...this is the power in possession of the rival of Zetta? I'm surprised he has the nerve to entitle himself as the -God of Destruction-. But it is of no great consequence, this Alex has no grasp of the situation at hand...nor does he even comprehend the real difference between us in terms of power. Perhaps I can use that little piece of information to get some enjoyment in this fight after all...'

Zetta-Baal didn't even flinch as electricity kept coursing through his body and light blinded his vision. This pain was nothing against the will to complete his own personal agendas, which would truly come to fruition once he located the one he sought the most in this universe. Not even Babylon and Trenia, the ones who were the most closely tied with his past, would be able to impede on his goals any longer. He would make sure of that.

"So...how did you like that lightning bolt, Zetta? Pretty big, ain't it?"

Alex inquired smugly, seeing as he was charged up with energy while most of the Overlord's clothing was torn to tiny shreds and Zetta-Baal's face hung low, already looked defeated. The Overlord held up his left hand as a small violet-black flame arose from his palm. The magic fire was completely resistant to the rain.

"You want to keep fighting? Give it a rest, Zetta! You've lost against my will and determination!"

The God of Destruction pounded on the Angel Beat once more, sending another impressive lightning bolt scorching down over the two of them once more. Before the lightning bolt descended, however, the black fire that emanated from the Overlord's palm exploded into a massive chaotic inferno that swallowed the lightning before it even had a chance to engulf him and the God of Destruction, and went even farther to evaporate both rain and cloud. Alex cursed as the flames reached his location, forcing him to retreat back until the flames died down in the air.

"Impossible...you shouldn't have had enough power anymore to pull off something like that after sustaining so much damage. Tch...you really are like a cockroach that keeps clinging onto life, Zetta."

Alex mumbled out, nervousness starting to kick in underneath his confidence. His advantage was no longer able to be means to fall back on. Even during his mad onslaught against Zetta when the Overlord had struck down Al, Alex had that small feeling in the back of his mind that things would not nearly be as easy as they had in the past. It should have been impossible if the Overlord got his body back recently, but Alex's senses had noted how powerful his rival had become and could practically feel an even more intense amount of Mana seeping free from Zetta's body than ever before. Alex never truly realized, until he witnessed the enormous dark flame spell consume his lightning spell moments ago, Zetta to have such masterful control over such a large amount of Mana power that he could keep it from going rampant on himself. The God of Destruction could conjure up another storm if he so desired, but the process was a little too long to make it conventional in a one on one duel since he was practically a sitting duck when performing the song with the drums. This meant he had to fight normally with his one reserve gained from the first lightning spell he cast. As always, Zetta-Baal spoke not with words but rather his actions as he flew towards the God of Destruction. Alex became frustrated.

'He...could have killed me at any moment he wanted to with that much power...he still can, but he keeps using his sword instead. All of the spells I've used on him in the past are nearly useless against him now. He really is like a whole different person. Why didn't my spies and assassins see this coming?'

He chanced a peek at the now completely visible underside of the Battleship Yoshitsuna after evading one of Zetta-Baal's attacks, since all the clouds were gone.

'How did they not know such a massive vehicle was in Zetta's possession? Why is everything going against my favor? At the beginning, I thought we were near equal. Near the middle of our bout after he struck Al, he began revealing slightly more and more of his true power but I hadn't been nearly that worried since I could reach that level of power easily too. Now...there's no way I'll be able to surpass him. He's so serious that I can't doubt that he's going to try and kill me and show me up against all my vassals on my own Netherworld. Has he been toying with me ever since we first met? So much power...I never stood a chance! No...I refuse to die here. I've worked too hard throughout the ages just to cower in the presence of a near unstoppable force now!'

Alex look of determination didn't go unnoticed by Zetta-Baal, who had the shadow of a smirk forming on his pale lips.

'You were wallowing in despair for a while there, but it would seem you've found a resolve to continue fighting. Good...let us see how long you can keep that charade of your's up, God of Destruction.'

Zetta-Baal's smirk increased even more as he continued the offensive. It was always an entertainment of his to toy around with headstrong young Overlords. Tension ran thick within the soldiers on Spire Mountain who witnessed the fight, already well aware of the advantage the Overlord probably had all along but chose only to reveal right at this time.

"Lord Alexander is in great peril now that Zetta has shown his true colors. Raiden, we must do something!"

A lesser Thunder Giant spoke up. Raiden shook his head.

"Not yet. Our Lord can still continue fighting for the time being. The only chance with the highest success rate we have to keep him and Master Alastor alive is to make sure he realizes that he truly cannot continue the fight any longer. In the past when he waged war against Zetta, Lord Alex would have to completely extinguish all his power before even thinking of retreating to fight again another day. I don't like to wait as much as the rest of you, but we must think of keeping both our masters alive or else our deaths will be in vain and Zetta will end up killing them because they'll be too stubborn to run."

Raiden explained, his eyes retreating from the battle to check on Al who was cradled against his large forearm. The boy began to stir.

"Ohhhh...my head..."

Al's eyes opened slowly, bringing a hand to rub his forehead in hopes of dispelling his headache.

"Are you feeling okay, Master Alastor?"

Raiden asked, relieved that the boy finally awoke. Everyone gathered around him.

"Raiden...? What happened to me? Why do I have a throbbing bump on the side of my head?"

Al asked, groaning slightly.

"You had a run in with Zetta. Thankfully, however, you'll be okay."

Raiden said. Al's eyes widened.

"That's right...! Is the fight still going on?"

Al asked quickly. Alex's roar of pain brought focus back to the duel. Everyone turned to witness Alex being rammed into by Zetta-Baal's shoulder, before the Overlord swung his blade upward. The God of Destruction brought up another barrier in intercept the attack, but the sword pierced through the shield again and only quick reflexes allowed Alex to swerve backward to avoid the rest of what would have been a very painful cut to add to the rest of his numerous injuries he had just incurred at the hand of Zetta-Baal. Alex was breathing heavily and coughing up some blood, but even with him in such a beaten state, his eyes continued to gleam with his determined will. Al looked worriedly at his brother, before his eyes went to Zetta-Baal who stayed as still as a mountain. The Overlord seemed satisfied with his onslaught, hefting his wide blade across his shoulder before gesturing Alex to come over with his other hand. Everyone realized that the Overlord was allowing Alex to attack him now, as if taking turns to strike down one another. Despite such arrogance, only the self proclaimed -Strongest- could do a thing like that. Al's form shook.

"All this Mana I sense...it all belongs to Zetta?"

Al said softly, more to himself than anyone else. His brother was truly brave to face off against such an opponent, but his bravery was likely going to get him killed in the process as well. Al was about to take to the sky to help him, but Raiden stopped him.

"Don't be rash, Master Alastor. You will only hinder Lord Alexander by trying to help him. It was a shock even to all of us who are now witnessing the true might that Zetta possesses. You have no experience fighting other Overlords anyway, and if the attack you received from Zetta was any indication...he won't take even a child such as yourself prisoner. I'm sorry, Master Alastor, but...this is the harsh reality of things."

The Thunder Giant said in a soothing voice, but even he looked afraid. Al gritted his teeth together in frustration as he saw Alex only hesitate for a moment before going for an onslaught of his own against Zetta-Baal.

"Why? I don't get you, big bro...why did you make a rival out of someone so impossible to defeat? Zetta's already about three times more powerful than you are right now. I...just don't understand."

Al floated back down to stand besides Raiden, his head lowered. Raiden made sure the boy held his head up.

"Watch closely, Master Alastor. Even though he's frightened, your brother will only contemplate backing down but never follow through until every bit of power has been used up for the occasion. That's just the way he is in the face of his rival and someday you might be as well. But there's no need to worry so much. We will lay our lives down to protect him when the time is right. And when I say we, your not included, Master Alastor. Even if you are a vassal like the rest of us, your still Lord Alexander's relative."

Raiden informed him.

"But..."

Al started to protest as his eyes left the fight again, but Raiden interrupted.

"Please don't interfere, Master Alastor. As long as both you and Lord Alexander live, you may have what it takes to become stronger than Zetta someday. Just concentrate on staying alive, or our deaths will be in vain."

Raiden said. All the other vassals nodded in agreement.

"VANISHING BOLT!"

Alex used his least flashiest or coolest spell in his arsenal, but it was his ultimate attack spell so that made up for it. The Angel Beat transformed into magic lightning that struck down on Zetta-Baal, encasing him in a sphere. Alex used the remains of his reserve power in order to increase the strength of the spell, as it was his last resort. Al noted this and got an idea.

"There maybe something I can do to help after all..."

Al said softly before he began beating a song with his drums. Alex heard the familiar tune and lost concentration for a brief moment, turning to gaze back at Spire Mountain.

'Only one other person besides me knows that song and has the power to use it.'

Alex thought to himself, finally able to see that Al was alright after all. The God of Destruction was about to holler to his brother not to interfere, but started thinking otherwise now that he had Zetta-Baal where he wanted him.

'Hmmm...now that I think about it, Salome did interfere and help Zetta beat me that one time. Maybe this time I should just swallow my pride and have Al interfere with this duel to help me. If he conjures up another full blown storm...it might still be possible to win for once.'

Alex smirked.

"Hey, little bro, keep playing!"

He yelled loud enough for Al to hear him, and the boy did just that. Storm clouds began to cover the sky again, though obviously, it wasn't a natural storm like the one earlier. Alex looked back to the imprisoned Overlord, who still had enough power to break free if he so wished, though the God of Destruction was hoping he would be able to absorb the lightning's Mana for his own use and make it more and more difficult for Zetta-Baal to escape.

"I suppose I may have originally brought this on myself, Zetta. You know, attacking you and your Netherworld so damn much that it made you want to come here. But I never tried to hurt anyone close to you without a just reason. You didn't have any right to do that to Al. He was about to fly off and you knew it, and yet you still struck him down. Why?"

Alex questioned as his body became powered up with more lightning, allowing him to add attack power to his spell. The Overlord never answered Alex and continued his silent treatment that he had began ever since he came to Alex's Netherworld. Not even the increase in damage to his body made him scream out in pain. It only further reminded the God of Destruction how utterly different and more powerful the Overlord seemed, as if he still had complete control. It was baffling.

"So you won't answer...and I don't suppose you have any last words then? Not even for Salome?"

Alex was hoping that by saying her name he would get some kind of response finally, but Zetta-Baal did nothing. It took some time, but Alex was finally able to draw enough power. He was truly surprised that Zetta-Baal didn't even try to escape at least once and seemed intent to hold true to his action of letting Alex finish his own turn. It was an extremely gutsy move on the Overlord's part. Al stopped playing, already a lot of power drained in the effort to provide the storm with enough kick to feed Alex more strength. Everyone was just as surprised as Alex had been to see Zetta-Baal even allowing himself the near successful chance of dying by the God of Destruction's hands. Alex no longer wanted to waste any time and came above the sphere, touching the surface with his hands.

"DIE!"

Alex sent the trapped Zetta-Baal down to the surface of his Netherworld with as much speed as he could muster. The explosion that ensued when the sphere touched ground was one of unexpected proportions. Alex was sent flying back as his whole northern area of his Netherworld was surrounded with blinding light, and the Yoshitsuna took off to outer space. All sense of time and direction was lost until the light finally faded back to normal.

"Oh crap..."

Alex muttered. Beside the whole storm dissipating for a second time, the whole area of this part of his Netherworld had changed, and some new mountain ranges formed due to the upheaval.

"Is it over...?"

Al asked as he floated down to Alex's location, who had made a decent sized crack along the side of Spire Mountain when it caught him. Alex's eyes widened as he felt tremendous Mana energy flowing within him, his body being charged with electricity into the hidden horn at the top of his head.

"So much power...and it's still coming forth. This is all of Zetta's Mana energy...?"

Alex took to the sky, looking at his own hands as waves after waves of power kept flowing within him. The God of Destruction was completely enraptured by it all.

"Lord Alexander...your flowing with so much energy! You've finally did it! You're the strongest in the entire universe!"

One of Alex's soldier's claimed. Alex turned to his brother who hovered beside him, patting him on the head.

"No...WE did it. Me and my little bro. I can hardly believe all this power...Zetta must have still been holding back so much. He took such a big gamble and lost. If it had been me, I would have never done such a thing so costly. Was he...trying to die?"

Alex said softly. If Zetta had been fighting at full strength, then there was no way Alex could have toppled him just now. It was as if the Overlord wanted to give Alex his power, which was way out of character for him. Any more thoughts were erased when Alex's body began to shake furiously.

"Lord Alexander, what's wrong? Your trembling is almost erratic."

Raiden said. Everyone else became worried.

"Are you okay, Alex?"

Al asked cautiously. Alex jaw was clenched tightly together as beads of sweat fell from the side of his already grimy face.

"Too much...it's too much..."

Alex clutched his head as his shaking intensified.

"AUUHHHH!"

Alex scream was blood curdling, and lightning began to unleash from his body, tearing through the mountains and almost into his Vassals own flesh themselves. Everyone began scattering for cover as Alex's power destroyed his own castle.

"Big Bro, stop it! What are you doing?"

Al asked frantically. Alex was finally able to get his screaming under some control, and he stared at his younger brother, his eyes full of tears.

"Al...I can't...control it...! Zetta's Mana keeps entering...!"

Alex said in a low frightened tone. His own Netherworld might be destroyed with his newly acquired power.

"Cut it off, then, Alex! Hurry up before you kill someone!"

Al shouted to him, creating a shield for the other vassals to hide under.

"I already...tried...but it won't stop! The Mana power is...!"

Alex couldn't finish as his screaming fit continued, and the lightning emitting from his body became even larger. Another sound broke into his scream and grabbed everyone's attention. A very familiar sound.

"...ha ha ha ha ha...Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha...HA HA HA HA HA!"

Zetta-Baal finally made a noise for the first time since arriving on Alex's Netherworld as he floated in the air, a few miles away from Alex's location. His laughter was so sickeningly pleased at what he was witnessing. Al flew over to face the Overlord, pure malice across his features as he eyed his brother's enemy.

"Your still alive! What have you done to my brother, you asshole!"

The boy, not caring if he cursed, demanded of the Overlord. Zetta-Baal smirked.

"I've done nothing, child...Behold the effects of an Overlord who has obtained so much Mana in such a short period of time that it has turned against him because he hasn't acquired the skill to harness it...to bend it to his complete and utter will. What you would call...going rampant against it's owner. Ha ha ha..."

Zetta-Baal began laughing again, but Al intervened.

"SHUT UP! All of your Mana power...take it back NOW!"

Al demanded again. Zetta-Baal only smirked wider, baring a fang over his lower lip.

"Why would I want to do that? Your brother got what he wanted did he not? He's now the strongest Overlord in the universe, and we can all witness as he tears both his residence and Netherworld apart by his own hand."

The Overlord said, and Al was completely surprised.

"You...fucking MONSTER!"

The boy shouted with all his might. It only made Zetta-Baal's smirk grow wider again, baring another fang.

"Oh please, child...tell me something I don't already know."

Zetta-Baal said with his deathly calm voice. Al roared in fury as he tried to attack the Overlord, but such a tactic proved futile as Zetta-Baal grabbed the boy around the neck, crushing his throat as his grip became tighter. Zetta-Baal tossed Al away like an annoying bug who had been flicked off his arm.

"Zetta...!"

Zetta-Baal's attention was brought back to Alex as he spoke that name. The God of Destruction willed himself to fly towards Zetta-Baal's location.

"You'll be the first one I truly kill!"

Alex said with determination. Zetta-Baal looked away with a bored expression.

"I was hoping to be entertained...but you don't have it in you...to sacrifice everything in order to become the strongest...not that I would have given you my Mana power anyway...so it's time you died now if you won't even amuse me by killing your own, right now."

Zetta-Baal explained, and a pillar of light began lifting from Alex. The Mana that had been Zetta-Baal's left his body, to enter the Overlord's once more. A black flamed aura surrounded the Overlord, expanding and expanding as Alex's power returned back to it's exhausted state from during the duel. The God of Destruction could have sworn he saw a giant black Demon forming in the shrouds of the black flames that kept growing larger, but it had gone just as quickly as it came. Once Zetta-Baal recollected all his Mana, he ascended high into the air.

"Die..."

The Overlord dove down towards Alex with blade thrust forward, his speed causing a powerful wind current behind him that could cut through flesh easily. Alex recognized the sword technique.

"Dammit...! Al, get out of here!"

Alex instructed as he raised a barrier in an effort to protect himself, though he was already well aware that things were too late for him.

"LORD ALEXANDER!"

A wall of bodies flew between the Overlord and the God of Destruction.

"What the hell are you all doing?"

Alex asked in surprise as all his vassals formed one large barrier from all the Mana power they had. Zetta-Baal's blade thrust into the barrier, nearly breaking it right then and there, but it miraculously held. He was obviously not striking with that much power than was necessary. Raiden was near the back of the bunch, looking towards the two brothers.

"Lord Alexander, Master Alastor...escape! Hurry!"

The Thunder Giant said with much strain in his voice as he and the other Vassals tried with all their might to repel Zetta-Baal for a few more brief moments.

"Raiden...all of you stop this now. Once I'm dead, Al will succeed me and take over as the next Overlord. It is you all who must take care of him. Now stand down, I command it!"

Alex stated with much authority in his words. No one complied, however, despite wanting to.

"Alexander...both you and Alastor are whom I swear my life to. All of us do...so please, leave us be...let us protect you this one time as you have protected us for so long already. Please..."

Raiden could say no more as the barrier was destroyed, and to the brothers horror, Zetta-Baal's attack went through the Vassals bodies like a scythe through wheat grain or something akin to that effect. And what the Overlord didn't hit, the backlash of the wind current his speed generated severed the bodies into even smaller pieces of bloody flesh that soon disappeared.

"RAIDEN!"

Al whaled as tears welled up in his eyes, looking into the empty eyes of the Overlord who was nearly upon them. Alex grabbed hold of Al's arm, before he teleported them both out of the way just before Zetta-Baal could do the same as he did to Alex's Vassals. Zetta-Baal rocketed back upward from his dive, stopping as he saw Spire Mountain crumble like a hollow clay model.

'So they got away...but it doesn't matter. I've had my fun for the time being. The next Netherworld awaits, may it finally be his so I no longer have to subdue him in that fashion.'

The Overlord flew away to rendevous with the Yoshitsuna in space, no remorse for the chaos he had wrought upon this Netherworld. Once Zetta-Baal left, Alex and Al teleported back where the remains of Spire Mountain was. Al was crying now, never having experienced the death of loved ones until this day.

"Raiden...Raiden..."

The boy mumbled his friend and caretaker's name over and over again between the sobs. Alex was greatly saddened by this tragedy as well, but did not let the tears fall.

"Al...get a hold of yourself. We aren't Angels or Humans. We're Demons, so start acting like one again. Raiden wouldn't want this of you, anyway."

Alex said. Al complied, but he didn't let go of the hatred he just felt towards his brother.

"Alex...why? Why did you make a rival out of someone like Zetta? Was it all worth this? This...destruction? The lives of our Vassals? How could you do this to them? Because you tempted Zetta, your just as responsible as he is for the death of all of them!"

Al stated vehemently. Alex growled.

"Shut up! They all knew what they wanted to do with their lives, and even disregarded my orders. Do you really believe I'm at complete fault because of that? Do you?"

Alex questioned, his tone a mixture of anger and hurt. Al felt bad now.

"I...I'm sorry. Your right, brother...Zetta is completely to blame for this. But he's not here anymore...so I took my anger and frustration out on you instead."

Al said. Alex nodded, rubbing the boy's head.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, as the saying goes...an eye for an eye, right?"

Alex said as he stared off into the distance. Things didn't dawn on Al for a few moments until he finally realized what Alex meant.

"Your...going to kill the one closest to him? Salome?"

He inquired.

"Bingo. Now before you say that I can't because I lost before, just hear me out okay? First, I was caught off guard because she was said to be losing Mana power, so I underestimated her too late to change the outcome of the fight. Second, I'm going to use you for assisting me. Third, I didn't have our family heirloom weapon to do battle with the last time either."

Alex explained. Al's eyes widened.

"Family heirloom...weapon?"

The boy asked. The God of Destruction nodded.

"Remember Al, about the ring of giant Drums that revolve around my Netherworld? That's the Devine Beat. And the strongest weapon in our family line. With that I could kill Salome easily!"

Alex declared. Al looked suspiciously unconvinced.

"Whoa, wait a minute. Those Drums are WAY too BIG for someone to use. Those will probably attract too much attention if you try moving them around anyway."

Al said. Alex sighed irritably.

"You dork, of course I'm not going to USE them as they are. I'll shrink them first. Sheesh...I can't believe you even thought I was going to use them in their magnified property. Keh...as if! Watch and learn, little bro. Watch and learn."

Alex said, concentrating on using some of the last vestiges of his power to summon the Devine Beat to his side. Lightning shot out from his horn in six directions. At first, Al didn't see anything happen, adding on to his scepticism. But eventually he saw six drums being pulled by the lightning strands, shrinking rapidly to the typical size for drum usage. The platinum encrusted surface was intricately carved into with many designs. Al took one of the drums and stared at it with awe.

"Wow...so this is the Devine Beat?"

He looked at the highly polished surface, seeing his face slightly obscured as the surface reflected it back to him.

"Yep. It's time you were given an upgrade too. So I'll hand the Angel Beat down to you, Al."

Alex said, making the Angel Beat float around Al. The boy smiled.

"Thanks. But what should I do with the Devil Beat now?"

Al inquired. Alex looked thoughtful for a moment.

"We'll use in as a grave marker for Raiden and the others for the time being. Once Salome's taken care of, her death should prove a decent distraction for Zetta, and hopefully we'll be able to find the Sacred Tome."

Alex stated, taking the six Devil Beat drums and placing them half way in the soft dirt beside the remains of Spire Mountain.

"Sacred Tome? That was the special book that Zetta confined to, right? How can finding that help us?"

Al asked.

"Remember Al, the Sacred Tome can be used to revive the dead, even those who die in the Netherworld."

Alex reminded him. The boy remembered instantly.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Then the Vassals that fell here can be saved. But should Salome really be killed then? It would provide the best distraction but I don't really think it's fair if Raiden and the others are revived then at the cost of her life, not to mention that it gives Zetta incentive to hunt us down. Maybe another distraction should be used in order to find the Sacred Tome if it really is still at Zetta's Netherworld."

Al explained to Alex.

"Maybe...well, we'll rest in whatever remains of the castle structure and recover our health and strength. We'll also think about the plan in more depth when the time comes. We need to focus on staying alive over all else as Raiden wished for us and also...I want to tap into that power of Zetta's again someday and tame it, so that I reclaim my pride as a user of power, not one for whom power uses."

Alex said in a steely tone, ascending some of the jagged rocks and heading towards the castle structure. Al followed meekly.

'I'll support you of course...but I really hope we know what we're getting into, brother. And to try and control that power would take a lot of time and effort from what it seemed. I'm surprised...and afraid. Zetta's older than him by some time, but somehow already has perfect control despite the fact that he shouldn't be able to. How is that possible?'

Al thought. Deep down, Alex had been thinking the same thing also.

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

Zetta-Baal sat in his throne. His clothes were being mended again back to it's normal look, so he was naked and ordered not to be disturbed. The Overlord needed rest in order to recuperate his power, but he didn't rest for very long as the part of Zetta's memory that resurfaced during the fight with Alex got him to thinking. He rose up from his throne and went behind it, facing a small keyboard lock on the back of the throne. He typed a combination that opened a secret chamber directly behind the throne and headed inside.

'Slowly but surely...he is most likely becoming more aware...of my presence. And why not? I have been too lenient it seems...'

The Overlord stopped within the dimly lit chamber which held two large capsule shaped tanks. One was in perfect condition, while the other looked to have been shattered open from the inside and still had broken glass on the floor. Thick layers of dust hung around the entire room. Zetta-Baal rubbed his hand to clear away the looking glass, revealing a body encased in ice of the same shape as the capsule itself. The tank was labeled with his name -Baal-, and it was his original body that lay within. The red clad Demon with the blue hair and dark skin. He turned to the broken tank, kneeling to grab the metal placard that remained amongst the old broken shards of glass. On it was the name -Zetta-.

"You escaped me once before, Zetta...but it won't happen again...because we will..."

He spoke softly as he dropped the placard back on the ground with a light clang, before getting back up to walk away, reopening the chamber and leaving as the wall slid back in place. He rested back in his throne.

"...meet again."

He propped his head up with his right hand, eyes closing shut to everything else.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Sorry, I failed. It's just so damn hard to depict a fight between a sword and a drum very well for me, so I just kind of gave into the plot instead of remaining focused on the fight between Zetta and Alex because my brain was about to turn into mush otherwise. This chapter is pretty long, though not quite as long as chapter five (the longest chapter so far, in case anyone was wondering) which may or may not make up for the lack of action and out of character personalities yet again. Anyway, things will become a little bit less serious once more in the next chapter, so hopefully that'll be something to look forward to. I guess the last thing worthy to note is that Baal speaks for a second time to someone other than Zetta...I'm just rambling now, aren't I? Sorry about that.


	9. Babylon's Rest Area

Strongest

Chapter 9: Babylon's Rest Area

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought and/or Telepathy

:MK:CST:

Valvoga's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Dark Lord's Throne Room

:MK:CST:

The Throne Room was empty when Salome teleported inside. She looked around briefly, but could not even sense the Star Overlord's anywhere.

'Where are they? I must speak to Ophelia as soon as possible!'

Salome thought frantically, heading towards the exit and opening the doors. Two Carrot guards armed with spears had been caught by surprise.

"What the...! Your...Lady Salome? What are you doing here?"

The shorter Carrot of the two asked. He was hit in the back of the head by the other one.

"You idiot! Your not suppose to greet her all civilized like that. She's the one who blasted the Castle before, remember?"

The taller Carrot said, waving his spear menacingly in front of Salome's face. The shorter carrot shrugged.

"Well, yeah but...she's an Overlord. You really think we can take her on without our own master's help?"

The shorter Carrot inquired.

"Fair enough, I guess."

Seeing the truth in those words, the taller Carrot lowered his weapon before Salome could do him any bodily harm as she was getting annoyed.

"Where's your master, anyway? I must speak with him about something urgent."

Salome said, in a slightly demanding tone.

"Uh...your gonna have to wait. He's playing a Final Boss role in a video game. Video World had come into orbit with Lord Valvoga's Netherworld a month, so they've been busily going about to film the final beta testing scene."

The shorter Carrot informed her.

"They probably won't be done until the next hour or so. You can wait in the Throne Room if you want."

The taller Carrot said. The female Overlord shook her head.

"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry. I'll just go on ahead and speak to him on Video World."

She said to them. Before the two could protest, she vanished in a view rings of light.

:MK:CST:

Video World, Volcano Summit Set

:MK:CST:

(Mini-Note: I'm aware that video games are not really directed like what is about to be seen, however...just bare with me on this one. It's the Netherworld after all, so just about anything is done just a tad bit differently.)

He finally stood before the Volcano's summit.

"I've made it..."

The Hero said softly. A rather evil laugh boomed into the air.

"HA HA HA! So this is the one? Don't make me laugh anymore at your expense. Leave here, weakling. You are not worthy."

The deep voice warned, though with a hint of amusement as well.

"So you really do exist, eh? Show yourself, Dark Lord, so that I may slay you and end your viral corruption to the rest of my kind."

The Hero challenged confidently. The Dark Lord only laughed more before calming down slightly.

"You act as if showing what pathetic creatures you Humans are is such a heinous crime. Have you forgotten that I am the epitome of ultimate evil? It's in my job description after all so what did you expect?"

Dark Lord countered. The Hero drew his sword and aimed it towards the sky.

"Show yourself, loathsome creature of the abyss!"

The Hero stated clearly.

"...Very well...face the wrath of the Dark Lord Valvoga!"

-FIGHT!-

Name: The Hero (too many others have died already, so who's keeping track of names?)

Class: The Hero (you were expecting...?)

Lv:1400

Hp:67168

Sp:14450

Atk:24484

Def:25780

Int:20140

Res:23135

Tec:8838

Weapon: Excalibur

Armor: S. Powersuit

Etc-Belt: Champion Belt

Etc-Muscle: Planet Lifter

Etc-Treasure: Testament

-V.S!-

Name: Valvoga (the epitome of ultimate evil?...questionable.)

Class: Dark Lord (...well, every hero needs a rival to beat!)

Lv:1500

Hp:76017

Sp:32084

Atk:49058

Def:42521

Int:25517

Res:42277

Tec:16665

Weapon: Divine Light

Armor: Nirvana

Etc-Orb: Overfiend Orb

Etc-Bust: Innocence

Etc-Treasure: Exodus

Before anything else can happen, however, Salome teleports on the scene. Valvoga looks surprised.

"Eh? Salome? Why are you here?"

He asked. Salome looks just as surprised by his altered appearance and was only able to tell it was him because of Micky's voice.

"Your...Micky? I wasn't aware you could change into a smaller version of yourself. Where is...?"

Before she could finish speaking, the dumbfounded Hero interjected.

"Hey, what gives? The Damsel in Distress isn't suppose to free herself, I'M the one who's suppose to save her."

He said. Salome only spared him a brief glance.

"I don't have time to deal with you."

She said flatly before turning towards Valvoga again. The Hero fumed.

"What the hell! Your suppose to come to me, not him! He's the bad guy! Honesty, wouldn't a sexy young thing like you want to hang out with a handsome stud like myself over some pale skinned freak?"

He said, coming closer to the female Overlord and placing a hand on her bare shoulder.

"Let's not play hard to get, my dear. I know you want me. Why else would you be tempting me with that nightgown of your's?"

He whispered softly into her ear. Salome's eyes narrowed. She swatted his hand off her shoulder and turned to face him.

"Your irritating me. Be gone."

She stated firmly, grabbing the front of his armored plate mail with her left hand before punching him dead on in the face with her right. The Hero went flying back a couple of feet before rolling down the Volcano's side, screams and clangs of metal following him during the fall. A very, very, very long fall.

-Game Over!-

"Cut! Cut! Dammit, that wasn't suppose to happen. Your coming into the scene way too early! The battle didn't even get a fourth of the way through and you killed the Hero! Do you know how long it will take to find another one? Do you?"

The Director said. Salome and Micky turned to face him.

"You should have said Cut earlier if you didn't want Salome punching that guy's lights out which in turn made him fall and break his neck. What WAS taking you so long anyway?"

Micky asked, making the Director nervous.

"I was thinking up another part to add in for one of the multiple endings since Lady Salome's arrival...but that's beside the point. She..."

Before the Director could say anymore, Salome interrupted.

"I apologize, but I really need Valvoga's help. Otherwise none of you may be able to even film this scene of your's and add it into the final product anyway."

Salome warned. Micky and the Director were stunned.

"She sounds pretty serious, whatever the problem might be. Maybe you should postpone the production for a little bit, Mr. Director. We wouldn't want to create anymore disasters when we're all so close to the final development stages. So then, Lady Salome, what do you need my help for?"

The Star Overlord mentioned. The Director grumbled incoherently but nodded and walked away. Salome was glad that Micky was being very understanding at this point.

"Yes. Well, not specifically your's. You see I wanted to talk to Ophelia. Where is she? How did all three of you separate like that anyway?"

Salome questioned. Micky laughed for a brief moment.

"Don't worry, we're all still one, but when I unite our thoughts on one set path I can create our ultimate body. Thank Zetta for me later if you see him. He is the one who helped me realize this potential."

Micky explained happily. Salome lowered her head sadly.

"Zetta's in trouble. That's why I need her help."

She told him, instantly putting the Star Overlord into a somber mood.

"Zetta is..."

Micky's eyes closed, and the crimson gem in his forehead changed into a violet colored one.

"...you'll have to more convincing then that, dear. I'm still not over that time you blasted the castle when you arrived to help Zetta the last time. Why now should I help you with anymore of your guy problems, huh?"

It was Ophelia's voice that came out of his mouth, and Salome realized that they now shared the same mouth in their ultimate state of being.

"Ophelia. I apologize, thought I know that the gesture alone will not be enough to win you over anytime soon. This entire universe, not just Zetta, might be threatened. Trenia sent me to retrieve you and said that if I mentioned the name Baal, you would understand her words."

Salome stated clearly as she talked to the fallen Angel that had been a part of Micky since he had been born.

"Baal..."

Before she continued, the gem turned orange, as did Valvoga's eyes when they opened.

"...is a myth! GYAH HYA HA HA HA!"

A deep booming voice stated. Salome realized it was Dryzen who was speaking now. But the gem turned to violet once more.

"Shut up, Dryzen. Baal is more real than even I'd like to admit. We can't afford for silly antics if the Overlord of legends long past is involved. Now then, did Trenia mention anything else, dear? About Baal or even Zetta?"

Ophelia questioned. It was amazing to see her so uncharacteristically serious, but Salome was only more relieved that Trenia's speculation had been correct, not that the female Overlord was too worried about it to begin with as the little girl tended to be right more times than she was ever wrong, even now with the loss of her power.

"No, but she did instruct me to take you to my Netherworld. She went to get Babylon on his Netherworld, and said that she would meet up with us on mine."

The female Overlord informed. Opehlia nodded.

"I see...so she hopes to make us the last resort to protect Zetta from him at all costs. Oh well, Zetta really is that important after all, so I would have to agree with Trenia's way of thinking."

Ophelia mentioned. Salome wanted to speak with her more about that, but Micky beat her to the question as the orb in Valvoga's head changed red.

"Hey, Ophelia, I don't get it. You sound as if you know Trenia from a long time back yet we've only first met her about a month back."

He told her, voice thick curiosity. Ophelia took over again, chuckling.

"Don't forget, Micky. Both me and Dryzen had separate lives before being reincarnated as components of your body. Our's was a rare case, but regardless, it happens. I knew Trenia from many years back so I don't doubt her words, but time is not on our side so I'll explain it in full detail later. If Baal is the one who Trenia suspects, then no chances can be taken. If Zetta falls into his hands again...well, calamity will consume everything...the just, the corrupt, the godly, the pathetic...there is no discriminating in Baal's ancient scheme."

Ophelia stated in a low tone.

"Ophelia...who are you?"

Micky was awed, to say the least. Salome was not too far off in her own thought process.

"And what do you mean when about Zetta falling into his hands again? They exist from completely different eras, so such a thing shouldn't be possible. What's their true connection?"

Salome questioned. There seemed to be something far greater than she first assumed brewing between Baal and Zetta, yet none of it seemed to make any relevant sense.

:MK:CST:

Babylon's Netherworld, Ice Fang Mountain

:MK:CST:

Unlike many of the other Netherworlds, Babylon's was one that was completely covered in ice and snow. Winter never ended in this Netherworld, and it seemed the Dragon Overlord wouldn't have it any other way.

"I wish things didn't have to come to this, old friend...but too much is at stake."

Trenia murmured softly, floating above Babylon's castle and paying no attention to the sharp, cold winds that swirled around her. It wasn't even a castle so much as it was a kind of temple or shrine. A few of the residence lined outside the front of the building, going inside to pay homage to their Overlord within the Dragon Eye Chamber. Trenia flew to the back of the mountain, landing at the very bottom of the mountain where a fairly large cove that faced a tiny frozen lake was situated. The small lake was completely surrounded by large mountain, and combined with the powerful snowstorms, not a single residence came to this area. Trenia entered into the massive cavern, guided by torches that hung from the wall. She soon entered the large hollowed out area within the mountain, finding a sea of ancient treasures and on top of them lay Babylon himself, sleeping.

"Babylon, wake up! WAKE UP!"

She shouted to the Dragon Overlord, but his massive frame remained unmoving. She had to wake him up urgently, so she used telepathy instead.

'Babylon.'

The large Dragon's eyes opened and he lifted his head up slightly, looking around briefly before his old eyes focused in on Trenia.

"Ohhh...you startled me, child. Why would you want to spend time with an old man like me? Zetta Boy hasn't been starving you, has he? You look thinner than before, I think...?"

Babylon said in a tired voice that boarded with confusion. Trenia's eyes were serious however.

"Babylon...Baal may have been freed. The time for playing aloof is over."

Babylon seem to undergo a change when he heard the little girl's words. No longer was his face so wrinkled and gullible looking, but tightened with a serious expression of his own.

"And Zetta? Has anything happened to him?"

He questioned in a voice full of authority as opposed to his confused old man speech patterns. He didn't even need to see Zetta to realize something happened, and now he just had to find out what that something was.

"Salome was with me when we witnessed it. I believe Baal has put him in a deep sleep, so I had her leave him on his Netherworld. How he has done this or even how he escaped imprisonment in the first place is unknown, but hopefully we will be able to bide some time since Baal is new to this universe. He's most likely stopping off at every Netherworld in hopes of finding Zetta. If he has been freed, he most likely will make his way here with the Yoshitsuna."

Trenia explained. Babylon nodded knowingly.

"Your most likely correct. Hmmm...One out of two of Baal's legacies already in his possession. Zetta's body was destroyed so we shouldn't need to worry about that, but a bigger problem presents itself. Zetta's now the Sacred Tome, the first Overlord classed Demon to confine to it. The wishes Baal could make would be amplified on near impossible scales if he was able to obtain Zetta that way. He could wish for..."

Babylon did not speak anymore for a few brief moments, not even wanting to fathom what Baal would be capable of. Both he and Trenia were in complete agreement on this.

"Yes...if Zetta was in his possession now, all the universes would surely crumble as Baal desires. Everything will return to the nothingness it started out to be, except no creation or evolution would be allowed to continue for all eternity."

Trenia said, her body shivering in fear, not the cold. Babylon lifted his head up to regard the darkness that was the ceiling of the massive cave.

"The depth of Baal's ambition to become the Strongest...by erasing all life and keeping it that way and then killing himself without regret because he knows he will continue to be the Strongest no matter what, as there will not be a single soul to challenge him. Such dedication would be admirable if not for his maddening plan. No matter what we've tried, it seems our efforts were not enough after all, Trenia. I doubt that I could take on Baal alone. Even with Ophelia's help, such efforts will still prove useless. Do you have some kind of plan to protect Zetta?"

Babylon asked, turning back to face the little girl. She lowered her head sadly.

"I do know where I can take Zetta so he can remain safe. I had Salome go and get Ophelia, which automatically brings Micky and Dryzen into the fray as well. So it will be Salome, Valvoga, and yourself total. The other Overlords probably are already occupying Baal as we speak. There is also a decent enough gap between each Netherworld that the Yoshitsuna will have to travel from one by one. All of these factors help us in terms of time, not resources and Overlord power. If we're lucky, some of the Overlords may survive and try and hunt out Baal and be led to Salome's Netherworld and end up assisting in the battle. I'm sorry that all the other Overlords including yourself have to be used like this, Babylon and that I cannot help you with any of the fighting. I'm very ashamed of my weakness...if me and my family were only stronger, none of this might have happened in the first place."

Trenia's body began to tremble more violently. Babylon used one of his long, fur tipped whisker like protrusions around his head to pat the little girl on the back to help comfort her.

(Mini-Note: Babylon has no hands in his dragon form, but in my opinion, I think he uses those whisker/whip like things coming out of his body to perform such tasks like writing in the Sacred Tome in the actual game. If anyone honestly knows how he can really do things like that without actual hands or those whiskers of his either, please let me know.)

"You must not blame yourself. If people like you and your mother who's souls were bound to the Sacred Tome before were as powerful as Zetta, Baal may have succeeded in his ambition that much sooner. I know you must use me, but I allow it willingly since Baal's ambition affects all living things no matter if it be Angel, Demon, Human or otherwise. There's no need to feel guilty about any of this, but if it will put your tormented mind at rest, Trenia, I will make sure both Salome and Valvoga will survive the battle as I believe I already know where it is you plan to take Zetta. I'll make sure they know where to go before I die, and I won't let the information into Baal's hands either. On my ancient honor, this I assure you."

The Dragon Overlord stated, confidence never once wavering.

"Babylon..."

Trenia had been shocked by his words as she lifted her head to look up at him, tears forming in her eyes. The old Dragon grinned.

"You, me, and Ophelia have been protecting Zetta for so long in our own ways. If it is my time to perish at Baal's hands, I believe Salome is the best candidate to replace me. Her love for him may be the only salvation from his dark past with Baal that I so badly tried to erase but only managed to fragment into millions of tiny pieces. Neither that or my parental affection was enough to give Zetta anything to truly live for, and it turned him back to the path to become the strongest just as Baal originally intended for him instead. Therefore, I must definitely ensure Salome's safe return to the one she loves the most. Hurry and retrieve Zetta from his Netherworld and take him to your safe place and wait there for Valvoga and Salome."

Babylon instructed, before slithering out of the cave that Trenia had entered, not allowing the little girl to say anything more.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: This chapter is another "plot revealing" type of chapter, similar to the fifth one. I also wanted to answer your question to me, Bella. That is if "The White Flower" version of Baal and the "Strongest" version of Baal are one and the same. I can see where these conclusions could be made, but actually this Baal is a different one created for this story. The similar outward personalities and backgrounds are most likely spawned from my envisionment of Baal's character back when I was writing "The White Flower". I don't really want to reveal much more or else my rambling habit may let a spoiler slip out, and then there would be no real point to read the story onward to the end when it arrives. So hopefully you'll forgive me for the short explanation. Anyway, my problem with this chapter is that everyone is so uncharacteristically serious, but I can't seem to help it because the story's plot itself keeps becoming more and more serious as well. Hopefully everyone enjoyed Thanks Giving and I'll try and update again some time soon.


	10. The Space King

Strongest

Chapter 10: The Space King

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought and/or Telepathy

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

'Why is it so dark? Dammit...am I still dreaming? Have I woken up at least once since that dream about fighting Alex was cut off? Tch...damn asshole imposter, where the hell are you!'

Zetta demanded hotly. He wanted answers now. These dreams were going on way too long to be healthy. Not that he could be completely sure how long he slept, since it could have been anywhere between a few hours to a few days. His eyes opened and he realized he was still in his body, and still unable to move as always. His body remained in the small throne in the small room of the flying fortress.

'I've heard of reoccurring dreams before but this is ridiculous! Maybe being that damn book has it's merits since I don't have to eat or go to the bathroom. I'd be a big mess otherwise when I did actually wake up...assuming I even can...no, wait a minute...dreams are the accumulation of one's desires, experiences, memories, and what not. If that damn imposter thing won't give me some answers, maybe I can search deeper within my own self! I have to know who that Demon dressed in red is...especially if what my imposter said was true. I have to know if that child's body I was in was really my own originally...which may make that red dressed Demon a relative or maybe even my own father...? And the Demon with the red hair who was supposedly with Trenia! Who the hell was he, and was he really the person Trenia used to wish on the Sacred Tome? Now that I think about it, in some sense, my body does look kind of like his...? I'm obviously the more handsome one of course, but that's to be expected. Anyway, I've gotta start using these dreams for something more constructive than just fantasizing about beating the shit out of the other Overlords who piss me off to no end. My memories are...'

Before Zetta could conclude his thoughts, the right hand Prinny entered.

"Lord...Zetta, dood?"

The Prinny asked hesitantly, not wanting to be smashed in the side of the head like he had been previously when he was about to call Baal by his name while Zetta's mind was awake within his body when Alex's Netherworld had been spotted. At the same time, he didn't want to be nearly choked to death like the Prinny doctor at the Nursing Bay of the battleship for calling him Zetta when it was really Baal. After a few seconds without any bodily harm coming on the Prinny's person, he concluded that Zetta was the name for the day and continued to speak.

"The next Netherworld is in sight, dood. Here are the specs, dood."

The Prinny said before leaving the room. Zetta knew he shouldn't be tempted, but allowed himself to view the Netherworld he would dream about causing havoc on. If he was lucky, maybe it would be Drake III's Netherworld. That annoying idiot had it coming to him in the form of a good ass kicking for trying to take over Zetta's Netherworld...twice in fact. First when he tried to rewrite the Sacred Tome, and the second was when he used the old Corn guy who everyone originally thought was -The One-. Actually, it had been quite a lot of centuries to go by since Zetta ever saw Drake's Netherworld that he had forgotten mostly what it looked like. The only thing he did remember that there was another Netherworld that looked similarly like it, and that Netherworld was...the one shown on the paper.

'That belongs to...Pram, the white bitch who caused my body to be destroyed in the first place. No...she did revive Salome after all so I guess I can't hold anything against her...but then again this is a dream and I could kick her ass for as long as I want to, so what am I saying trying to hold back for! I can get my other answers later after I beat the living hell out of her! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!'

A deeply repressed fury was unleashed. So long had Zetta tucked away the urges to utterly annihilate Pram for Salome's sake since the female Overlord owed her new life to the Former Oracle's efforts. Zetta needed an outlet for all these bottled up emotions and it might as well be this dream. Baal controlled Zetta's body to stand swiftly.

'It seems I am indebted to the Overlord Pram since she was the one who allowed me to take this body that was to be mine to begin with had it not been for those many interferences so long ago...yet, it was also the same Overlord who revived that Salome the Traitor in the first place when she should have remained dead. It is so hard to choose what kind of death to bestow upon her...or should I let you control your own body for the decisive final blow, Zetta?'

Baal's thoughts were so low that they were always undetectable by the younger Overlord.

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Outskirts of White Fairy Mountain, Hidden Grove

:MK:CST:

Even before the Yoshitsuna was about to descend, an invasion was already taking place. Not one of Prinnies, but rather, it was one of Vegetables. They were all minions of King Drake III, the Lion Overlord who in actuality had no Netherworld to call his own and had been living off the lesser worlds around this Universe. Pram's Netherworld had once been his own until the girl took it from right under his nose at only the tender age of two. It left him both infuriated and humiliated that his only child, his only daughter, would leave him high and dry like that. Of course, no other Overlord knew that Drake didn't have his Netherworld anymore because of the deal he and Pram had made. In exchange for not telling the other Overlords that Drake's Netherworld now belonged solely to her, Pram made him swear to never mention him as her parent. He may have felt humiliation for the loss of his Netherworld, but she felt humiliation for just being related to him. Despite being far, far, far from the sharpest tool in the shed, the Lion Overlord was able to keep this secret between himself and Pram from spilling out during the process of helping Zetta with the rebuilding of his Netherworld.

"We need more troops for the front gateway, King Drake. Preferably the Apple Seeds for their healing magic."

Spoke an old Corn. This old man was the same Corn who was at first mistaken to be -The One-, until the Overlords realized that the so-called curse branded upon Zetta was completely fake when he was still alive and kicking well over the three day limit. The old Corn now served as a Vassal under King Drake and, more importantly, an advisor. King Drake would never have had the talent and skill alone to try and take his old Netherworld back after his original plan to take over Zetta's Netherworld flopped big time. Heck, the old Corn was more like the one in charge yet never actually tried to take advantage of King Drake's stupidity and genuinely seem to want to help him, perhaps because it was Drake who saved his life after the near fatal injury obtained from the Zetta Beam. He instructed Drake and taught him how to cultivate the land to create the formidable Vegetable army and to use the tactic called -The Invasion From Within-(gee, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?). At this very moment, King Drake, was dressed not in his royal garbs but rather simple farm work clothing.

"Apple Seeds, huh? Got it. I'll send them right away."

Drake said and walked to the large Apple Tree he grew on Pram's Netherworld.

"Troops, fall in!"

Drake ordered. Apples began falling from the tree onto the ground, sprouting two seed like eyes, a mouth, and bodies. Some of their heads had worms coming out of their eyes for brief moments, but it did not affect the Apple Seed soldiers, who were quite used to it. The Apple Seeds lined up in a straight line before King Drake.

"You heard my friend. Your brethren need assistance on the front of the castle. Make haste before all is lost. That is all. MOVE OUT!"

Drake shouted, and the Apple Seeds saluted, and burrowed under ground. This was their fastest means of travel through Pram's Netherworld and provided more cover as opposed to temporary flying. Of course all this use of Vegetables unique burrowing abilities was thought up by the old Corn guy, not Drake himself. Drake turned to the old Corn.

"How was that time? I didn't slip up even once!"

Drake stated, very much proud of himself. The old Corn nodded.

"Yes, very good. Your Order Capabilities have increased significantly under my tutelage for the past month."

The old Corn said. Drake nodded vigorously.

"Hey, thanks for the words of encouragement! I'll have Pram's Netherworld in no time! Ha Ha Ha!"

Drake placed both hands on his hips and guffawed loudly as he proved out his chest in his arrogance. The old Corn sighed.

"Please calm down, King Drake. Your daughter is very smart and very powerful. We have to fight with these guerilla tactics in order to keep ourselves alive. If Pram knew our locations, she could utterly destroy us. I don't mind helping in your ambitions, but please try and keep your emotions in check and not put the entire force in jeopardy."

The old Corn warned him. Drake calmed down relatively quickly.

"Yes, your right. It's just so boring having to wait like this. It's been an entire month since I started this fight, but when will this Netherworld be mine again?"

Drake sighed out dejectedly. Luckily, he knew the hiding places of Pram's Netherworld better that she herself did, so the King and Vassal were actually quite a bit more safer than they would originally believe. The old Corn gave him a pat on the back.

"This is what you wanted to achieve, remember? There's no need for impatience. It's been so long already, you might as well keep going, my King."

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

"So that's the person in charge of all the Vegetable Demons, dood. Seems there is a family feud going on between him and his daughter who is the Overlord of this Netherworld, dood."

Using the high tech camera mounted onto the lower half of the Yoshitsuna, an image of Drake and the old Corn guy was projected to the middle of the room for Zetta's viewing pleasure.

'Why the hell didn't these damn Prinnies do this for me the last time? Oh yeah...they were the only invaders at the time, silly me. But enough about that...Pram is Drake's DAUGHTER! Shit, I did not see that one coming at all, but I can see why she wouldn't want to say anything considering the mass embarrassment that would probably ensue behind her back. Honestly, who would want a moron like that as a parent? Even someone as fearless as me just gets shivers thinking about it. Huh...then again, I could kill two birds with one stone in this scenario! Pram can die for making me lose my real body, and Drake can die for trying to take over my Netherworld. Guess I should take Drake down first of course since he's a damn coward who likes to run away when in deep trouble. Might as well make ole Corn face there pay for his false curse to. Bastard made me worried I was gonna die in three days! Man...if only this was reality, I could completely humiliate Pram!'

Zetta still had one other dilemma.

'I just got this wickedly bad-ass plan brewing in my head, but how the hell do I execute it without having control over my body since it seems to like to do whatever it wants to? Dammit!'

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room of Endless White

:MK:CST:

"Stupid Vegetables. Now I'm gonna be just like Zetta and hate and curse them for the rest of my long life..."

Pram, Former Oracle who now took up her full time role as Overlord of her Netherworld, growled lowly. The Vegetables loved to burrow under ground to escape the full devastation of her powerful magic powers. Vegetables were also tough due to their well balance of members. Carrots attacked physically up close with swords or spears, Pumpkins attacked from mid range usually with rifles, Corns used offensive magic to strike from long range, and the Apple Seeds provided support with curative spells. All these factors made them extremely hard to kill for her soldiers, but Pram herself was not one to give up so easily. Especially considering it was her idiot of a father who was behind the whole thing (having publically announcing it to her and the rest of her residence a month ago before suddenly attacking). Right now, many of those said Vegetables she now despised so much had infiltrated her Throne Room. Tucked under her arm was the spell book, Pnakotic Diary, which Pram made levitate from her palm once she outstretched her arm. The book opened up and began to move from page after page, glowing faintly to amplify her already tremendous magic skill. Pram aimed her other hand toward the incoming enemies closing in on her, shooting icicles from her palm in rapid succession to skewer any unfortunate enemy. Her offensive was completely flawless and prevented any Vegetables from being able to even fire off a spell of their own.

"Dammit, this has got to stop. I better find that dumb-ass before I start to lose sleep over this."

The Former Oracle said to herself. Her once miraculously clean Throne Room was now in shambles, but it was of no concern at the moment and could be rebuilt at a later time. Finding Drake at the moment was top priority. Or so she had hoped, until the ceiling was drilled through and Prinnies began falling through the holes they made with their large power drills. The ground began to shake as well with the arrival of Prinnies in Driller G machines. Pram eyes narrowed into slits.

"What the hell is going on! Now he's got Prinnies working for him? Damn devil penguins, eat ice, bitches!"

With those words, the Former Oracle fired off another batch of sharp icicles at the opposition. She might have to start getting real serious if Drake was bringing all these soldiers.

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Outskirts of White Fairy Mountain, Hidden Grove

:MK:CST:

"What the...! Where are all these Prinnies coming from?"

Drake looked near the mountain where some of his forces, along with Pram's, were suddenly both attacked by Prinnies flying overhead in F-X Skydiver planes. The planes descended quickly and unleashed bombs on top of Drake and Pram's soldiers, while other planes used machine guns to tear through them.

"Those Prinnies...are they part of some other invading party or just here for the hell of it?"

The old Corn questioned. Drake was already going ballistic.

"What do we do? We don't have the vehicles to combat them...We're all GONNA DIE!"

Before Drake could go in running mode, the old Corn jumped up and slammed him across the face.

"Get a hold of yourself, my King. We'll be blown away if we're seen. We may just have to wait here until things blow over. Have the rest of my kin retreat for now. Maybe we can use these Prinnies to our advantage to weaken Lady Pram or something."

The old Corn said calmly. Drake took deep breaths to calm down. Until the snapping of a twig caught his attention. The Lion Overlord focused in on the source of the sound was very surprised by what he saw. Actually he was much more astonished than that.

"Z...Ze...Zetta?"

The Lion Overlord squeaked out. The strongest Overlord ever know stood before him, guarding the exit to the hidden grove. It was a surprise he was even able to find this spot. Followed by Zetta were four Dark Gear XX vehicles, two going to either side of him. The Lion Overlord began to show his bravado(as he was prone to do in front of any Overlord and considering the fact that he's trapped for now).

"Wow, look at you, Zetta. No longer the Book Worm, I see. How's it going? It would seem you're the one controlling these Prinnies. May I ask why?"

Drake inquired, but the Overlord remained silent.

'Hmm...my body seems to be cooperating with my thoughts though I still can't control my limbs directly. Wasn't this also a bit of an overkill to bring four Dark Gear XX's? I mean, I could take on Drake and the damn Corn face with both hands tied behind my back, plus blind folded at the same time. Were they really necessary?'

Zetta questioned himself. Drake was beginning to take Zetta's silence as an insult.

"What's up with you Zetta? Cat caught you tongue(how original...)? Are you here to steal my glory of taking over Pram's Netherworld? Why would you do such a thing, considering our illustrious history together?"

Drake said in a hurt tone. Zetta was the silent one, as per usual considering the circumstances.

'Illustrious? Since when? Hell, I didn't even think he knew such a big word to begin with. Stupid dreams are confusing me! I mean, come on, how would Drake know such a word and be able to use it in the right context? Damn, now I really have seen everything...'

Zetta's thoughts were interrupted by Drake speaking again.

"We've know each other for 30,000 years and counting, Zetta. I don't see why I deserve the silent treatment from you. If this is about me trying to take your Netherworld a month back, lighten up already because it was just a joke. No need to be bent out of shape and itching for a fight, okay? We can both talk this over like civilized, honorable individuals."

Drake said. All this ass-kissing was starting to make Zetta nauseous.

'Uh...like civilized, honorable individuals? Last time I checked, trying to take a Netherworld from someone in his or her sleep isn't honorable. I'm surprised he would even say things like that. Damn hypocrite.'

Zetta wanted so badly to speak at this moment.

"All I really wanted from you was your...your...your -Junk-."

Drake continued on, trying to find the right excuse. Zetta was freaked out at that moment, taking the meaning the wrong way.

'My...-junk-? You sick son of a...! I didn't know you swung that way.'

If Zetta could, he'd be gagging. The same could be said of Baal, who made Zetta's facial expression contort in disgust. It confused Drake briefly until the old Corn spoke up.

"Uh...I think he took the term the wrong way because of how you said it. He thinks you're a homosexual...er, I mean, gay."

He said. Drake's face went red, and he became absolutely livid.

"How dare you! How dare you imply that someone of my distinguished lineage is...is...is...so insidious!"

Drake was growling darkly in his rage.

'What the hell? Why are you getting mad at me when your -friend- was the one who said it? Hmmm...but I wonder...you seem to get smarter when you get angry, Drake.'

Zetta thought to himself.

"I meant I wanted your valuables and your riches, you asshole! Don't think you'll get away with that insult to my pride, Zetta..."

Drake began to build up power, his muscles bulging as his entire body started being surrounded in a fiery sphere.

"...tremble at the fullness of my TRUE FORM!"

Drake's body disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Zetta briefly thought the Lion Overlord ran away under the cover of it. But the outline of someone could be made out. And when the smoke finally cleared completely, before Zetta's very eyes stood a... bony thin, black haired guy dressed in a blue suit, red and white striped tie, wearing a demon helmet and riding a little red scooter?

:ToBeContinued:

Note: I apologize for the late update. This chapter was hard to write because it was quite a chore to try and keep Drake in character to how he is in the game. I probably killed his personality pretty badly though...even Pram seems off in the little segment she's given. Oh well, I'm trying the best I can. Anyway, about two or three chapters left until the second and hopefully more interesting part of the story get's into motion.


	11. Death Throne Pram

Strongest

Chapter 11: Death Throne Pram

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of character from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Outskirts of White Fairy Mountain, Hidden Grove

:MK:CST:

'What the...? Who's this guy?'

Zetta just stared blankly. The Prinnies in the Dark Gear XX vehicles started laughing. The old Corn guy himself tried to bite back his own laughter, the trick he saw Drake pull off both entertaining and bizarre. The said spectacle of a man flushed deep red, before transforming back to an equally flushed Drake.

"Uh...oops...you saw nothing! Ahem...let me start that over again."

Drake said softly in his embarrassed state. The Prinnies would not stop laughing though, almost tipping over themselves in their machines. It was to be expected considering the all too serious nature on board the Yoshitsuna. The Prinnies needed a good laugh, and they planned to tell the entire crew when they got back, assuming they survived. The old Corn was able to subdue himself mimicking those Prinnies motion by motion in hysterics, but it was hard since he too had been experiencing a tense month of trying to help Drake's army evolve and strengthen. Zetta was just confused, until he remembered Drake was a shape shifter. He'd forgotten that since there was so little interaction between himself and Drake. Baal was becoming annoyed. Drake was getting pissed.

"STOP LAUGHING!"

The Lion Overlord roared, the fiery aura surrounding himself once more. He tore off his farming clothing, to reveal that he wore all his royal clothing beneath(which wasn't a lot to begin with). He lept high into the air.

"Wait, King Drake! You'll give away your position!"

The old Corn warned, but Drake was too angry to listen to reason. He was lucky that Pram and her soldiers were too preoccupied by Zetta's Prinny army to take notice. Drake dive bombed down to Zetta and the Prinnies. The Overlord evaded the descending attack by teleporting out of harms way, while the two nearest Prinnies in their Dark Gear XX machines were flattened like pancakes under the impressive body slam and exploded in a red blaze. The other two Prinnies were about to attack Drake as his aura disappeared, but the Lion Overlord confined some Carrots and Pumpkins to distract and occupy them. He now looked for his main target of battle at the moment, having gained courage through his provoked rage. Zetta appeared in front of him.

"Good, you didn't run away Zetta. I guess it's time to take care of you once and for all. We were destined to fight, so I guess it would only make sense that I deal with you before taking down Pram. Let's go! Let us confront one another honorably as fate had ordained!"

Drake said, making an intricately designed hammer called Golden Time appear in his hands. As it's name sake, the hammer was completely covered in gold and was quite formidable despite the artistic design of it. Zetta's hand came up, summoning the large Genesis to his open palm for use. Drake struck first as he rushed toward the disturbingly quiet and patient Zetta. Drake swung the mallet overhead with ease, Zetta guarding the blow with the flat of his blade. Drake tried to push Zetta off balance with the more superior weight and muscle mass of his own body, but the Overlord was as unmoving as a mountain.

'Honorably, he says...what a load of bullshit. Guess this body of mine can humor him for a little bit if nothing else. I wonder if my anger theory would work on the real Drake like it does with this dream one, though? I'd cut off my hair to see that be proven true! And I love my hair!'

Zetta amused himself with the thought as his body pushed a surprised Drake away. Even if that theory was proven true, he didn't have to worry about cutting his beloved red hair because he didn't have his body. Drake regained balance as he tried to strike Zetta again, going in with a spinning whirl attack that was able to shove Zetta's sword away and allow the Lion Overlord to trip Zetta's feet out from under him. Drake tried to close in for the attack by rising after the now airborne Overlord, but before he could hammer Zetta into the ground, he was soundly struck in the chest with a kick that sent him down. Drake gasped sharply in pain as he hit the ground hard on his back.

'Dammit...so close to fulfilling my own goal, only to be foiled by Zetta? How did he know I was going to be at this very area? This is MY Netherworld! I'm the only one who knows that these hidden areas exist, not Pram...and no other Overlord should either...so how? How did Zetta find this area when Pram could not?'

Drake was thinking awfully hard that his head hurt. Zetta came spiraling down at him, sword ready for the kill. The Lion Overlord disappeared in another puff of smoke, much to the Overlord's annoyance. Zetta's head began moving around, trying to pinpoint Drake's location. His large ears picked up the feint sound of something to his right and turned his sights there, seeing an oddly golden colored Nether worm peep up from the ground. The Overlord swept his blade across the ground in a powerful swirling motion, nearing cutting Drake in two. The Lion Overlord tried to be cunning as he shape shifted again, using the smoke screen generated to blind Zetta momentarily to finally get a hit in. Zetta had expected a tactic like this to be used at some point and already alert to the chance it might be used. Even as the smoke surrounded him, the Overlord spun his sword around like a propeller to dispel it, and Drake was left open for a crippling strike to the ribs from Zetta's empty fist that sent the Lion Overlord skidding across the ground on his shoulder. The Overlord was already advancing on Drake, who remained motionless. Zetta brought his blade up, ready to cleave off Drake's head, but the Lion Overlord reacted at the last possible moment.

"Gotcha!"

Drake reeled up quickly, brining his mallet upward. Zetta guarded once more, but was sent high into the air with Drake trailing after him. In a tremendous show of strength, Drake smashed the Golden Time at the defending Overlord with enough force to send him orbiting across Pram's Netherworld just above the planet's gravitational pull. This made Zetta seem like a passing meteorite/shooting star as he rocketed from one side to the other. Drake turned, preparing to smash Zetta back into the ground. The Overlord would have none of this, however, and just when Drake was preparing to swat Zetta out of the air, Zetta attacks with the flat of his sword, a dazed Drake being drilled into the ground by the force of his landing. Zetta descended just as quickly, grabbing the Lion Overlord by the front of his mantle and pulling him roughly from the ground. Drake shape shifted again to escape, turning into a little golden fly.

'Screw this. Better run and live to fight another day.'

Drake thought to himself as he escaped from the smoke and deciding to use the tactic that had allowed him to live for so long already. Drake landed on the side of the old Corn's head.

"Hey, friend, we better retreat for the time being and regroup. We'll meet at the hiding spot that we went to three times before this one."

Drake whispered into the small openings in the side of the old Corn's head, his ears. The old Corn was wise enough not to speak even though he had been surprised by the sudden command that seem to come out of no where. He only glanced briefly at the remaining Vegetable troops that were now being slaughter by the eating abilities and skills of the Dark Gear XX machines used by Zetta's Prinnies. The old Corn walked carefully through the smoke screen Drake left behind and made his escape. Unknown to him however, Zetta's arm had come through the fog expertly to trap the golden fly in his fist before Drake could escape with the old Corn. Zetta let the remaining smoke fade as he felt Drake try and futilely escape his grasp. Zetta's palm opened as he jumped back slightly when Drake transformed back to normal in an attempt to surprise the Overlord again. Drake already used it a couple of times before, and Zetta was no longer surprised, lashing out into the smoke and striking Drake in the nose with his fist. The Lion Overlord whaled in surprise and hurt because of his sensitive nose. Drake hit the ground and tried to slink away, but it was no use. Whatever form he took, Zetta was easily trapping him time and time again, warring out Drake's nerves and making him more and more afraid.

'What the hell is going on! No one has ever tried to stop me from fleeing, not even Zetta...why now does he stop me? After all this time...why does it have to be now?'

Drake was becoming frantic. It was so easy to note the change in attitudes Zetta had displayed to all the Overlords he encountered thus far, and as moronic as Drake was, even he had quickly caught on to the differences in behaviors. Behaviors no one ever saw in Zetta for as long as they knew him. Behavior no one knew to be the doing of another being entirely. Baal decided to end this game, feeling Zetta's mind to no longer be entertained and instead becoming impatient just as his own after the forty ninth time Drake had been cornered in the hidden grove. He made Zetta's arm raise up to use one more decisive blow as the other arm grasped around Drake's cape to lift him in a standing position.

"Wait Zetta! Just wait! You win, okay! I'm sorry I tried to take your Netherworld before. Really, I am. I'll go away again...even farther than Seedle's Netherworld, okay? Just please spare my life!"

Drake pleaded, on the verge of tears as he stared at the giant weapon in Zetta's raised hand. The Lion Overlord was sent into the world of unconsciousness as he was struck hard right in between the eyes by a hilt smash. He went limp, dangling along his toes as he was still being held up by Zetta's hand. The Overlord turned to see the Prinnies grind the last Vegetable into messy pieces. Zetta threw Drake at them, the Lion Overlord's large body smacking the ground just a little ways ahead of the Dark Gear XX machines.

'Letting an Overlord get eaten is a bit dark even for me...wait, what am I saying? I'm the most evil person out there in the universe! Nothing is too dark and evil for me to handle!'

Zetta thought to himself arrogantly. The Dark Gear XX machines, however, did no such thing and took Drake away instead, back to the Yoshitsuna. Why they were was unknown to Zetta. To Baal, however, Drake could be made to talk through interrogation. Zetta's memories were so badly scattered that Baal could not use the Overlord's mind to navigate this particular universe correctly with the Yoshitsuna. Zetta rarely ever left his Netherworld anyway, and whenever he did, it was usually by teleportation, which was not a good navigation tool to pinpoint where a Netherworld was and could only be done by Overlords who were familiar with their own universe, or else they could send themselves to places they would not like to go and end up lost. A dilemma Baal would like to avoid at all costs. Capturing an Overlord familiar to the universe being explored was the most ideal solution and was the reason Baal had originally wanted Seedle to be captured in the first place so a map could be built quickly and he could meet with Zetta's soul that much quicker. Now he had that chance instead of using the detection equipment to seek out every planet one by one.

'Wait a minute, why the hell aren't they gonna...?'

Zetta was interrupted as a blast of cold air blew through the grove. His body turned, Seeing an avalanche consume some ground troop Prinnies who were chasing after some of Pram's soldier up the mountain. Even from as far away as the grove was from the mountain, Zetta could feel the effects of the mighty cold spell cast.

'Is this...Pram's power? Damn, she really is strong!'

Zetta pondered, seeing Pram shoot up into the sky and allowing him to see her for the first time in a while. She sent an Omega Ice spell crashing down from a portal ripped into the sky that took out the FX-7 Skydiver planes. Regardless of her power, it was still not enough to match his, so Zetta had only been bothered for a couple of seconds before his calmness returned.

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, White Fairy Mountain, Back side of Overlord's Castle

:MK:CST:

Zetta began flying toward her location, but then swerved and sped across the field to go to the back end of White Fairy Mountain to escape detection while Prinnies kept Pram and the others occupied at the front side. Zetta had thought his body was going to attack Pram from her blind side, but instead, once reaching the back of the castle, his body simply stood stock still as if to wait.

'Dammit...why the hell are we waiting again now? Pram is so close...all I'd need to do is fly over this castle and I'd be there and ready to cleave her head off. Stupid body, you were doing so well until now. Move! Let's get this over with!'

The Overlord's ranting did not make Baal move the body in the slightest. He had made the decision to torment Pram for the revival of Salome the Traitor and knew just how to go about doing it, and right now the plan required patience.

'Those who assist in hindering the plan by allowing one of Zetta's weaknesses to return shall pay dearly for their interferences.'

Baal affirmed to himself. The deep rage of his and Zetta's were mingling, only making it that much easier to control Zetta's body.

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, White Fairy Mountain, Front side of Overlord's Castle

:MK:CST:

'All the Vegetable's have gone...is the old man fighting with just Prinnies now then? Damn, maybe he has started growing a brain after all, saving the tougher army for last. My armies could hold off those Vegetables decently, but these Prinnies are seriously starting to get the upper hand on them. So damn organized...guess I have no reason to say you can't teach a Prinny new tricks anymore. Their no match for me, but still freaking annoying!'

Pram shot some more large scale ice spells to halt the Prinnies in their tracks, and after a while, it seemed to pay off as the Prinnies were starting to retreat little by little. Unfortunately, she had assumed too early, and more Prinnies were being confined from the sky.

"Gah! There's just no end to them!"

The Former Oracle growled out in frustration. She blasted them with another wide radius Omega Ice spell. Everything became deathly quiet as Pram waited for anymore Prinnies to come down, yet they never did, and Pram's army began cheering loudly. Pram gave a sigh of relief as she descended towards the mountain about thirty feet away from her castle, glad that the army of Drake's was held back once more.

"Are you okay, Lady Pram?"

One of the Medics asked, coming forth to inspect Pram of injuries, but Pram waved him off with her hand.

"I'm fine. Looks like we were able to hold off Drake's army once again."

Pram declared. A Vampire came forth soon after.

"Your father...err, I mean King Drake, seems to have expanded the power of his army significantly, Lady Pram. I don't think any of us have ever combated such a powerful Prinny force until this day."

He said. He had corrected himself since he knew that Pram did not like to be reminded of her relation to King Drake. Everyone nodded in agreement of his last statement. Pram was already too well aware.

"I know. He has to be employing some kind of help, but who?"

Pram put a finger to her chin in thought. Someone had to be a pretty patient person to train all those Prinnies not to do anything random and go in a smooth working order of attack.

'There is one Overlord that comes to mind who might hate me enough or even more than the old man does, but I've settled things with him anyway. Besides...he has never recruited Prinnies before and probably won't start anytime soon. Does that mean my old man took enough time to train those Prinnies by himself while using the Vegetables as cannon fodder? No way in hell could he have done that, let alone have thought about it...dammit, who other than those two hate me enough to do this then?...!'

Before Pram could think on it anymore, a black blur smashed into the top part of her castle before tearing through the inside and zipping back outside, making it collapse from within.

"My Castle...!"

Pram took to the air and rushed back toward the rapidly falling structure that had once been her grand white marble and brick Castle.

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Remains of Overlord's Castle

:MK:CST:

Even though it had only been a short distance to fly, the castle was already completely destroyed as clouds of dust billowed from the remains. Pram landed swiftly, gazing dejectedly at what was the pinnacle of her first great achievement. The castle was a reminder that she had overthrown her father and made way for her own path to follow, his Netherworld now being her's and she as an Overlord. If this had been Drake's work...she'd show him no mercy. Her army came by soon after.

"This is horrible..."

A Saber Kitty said. The dust began to clear, and Pram saw the remains of her throne at the center of the fallen castle structure. It had been damaged too, but not in the maddening wave that the black blur consumed the rest of the castle. It was cut crudely to resemble what looked like a doghouse. Carved all around the surface was the word -Plaything-. Pram walked closer to it, finding more carved words in the sides of broken bricks that scattered around the damaged throne.

"Life isn't...that...easy...you should start from...the very beginning."

Pram was able to piece the words together after a few brief moments of looking over them. This made her eyes opened in surprise.

"Life isn't that easy, you should start from the very beginning."

Pram repeated it to herself normally now and realized that those had been the words she had said to Zetta when he first wanted a new Overlord's Castle for his Netherworld after the previous one had been destroyed, but only got a doghouse instead as wished by herself which had made him go ballistic. He had only grumbled incoherently before calming down when she spoke those words. Pram made the connection now, realizing that Drake may not have had a hand in the destruction of her castle after all.

"Zetta! What the hell is the meaning of this? Get your scrawny book body out here and face me! There had better be a damn good explanation for this, too!"

Pram shouted out, looking around for Zetta to appear at any moment. He was not one to remain in hiding after all, it just wasn't in his nature. Calm, slow, and rhythmic footsteps began sounding from behind the remains of the tall tower that once fitted at the center of the castle, which now was on it's side near the edge of the back of the mountain. The person who walked out was one Pram never thought she'd see again, as it had been a prediction from the one and only Trenia the Oracle. Zetta's strides were steady, but he did not walk in quite the same overconfident manner that Pram remembered, and his face was guarded of emotions as burning white eyes locked with astonished dark black eyes. He stopped walking when he was about ten feet away from her location.

"Zetta...how?"

Pram asked, but received no answer.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Sorry for the late update, but I didn't have access to the internet for some time. I know this chapter isn't very good, just like the last one, and the next one will probably suck too. But after the whole Pram scenario is taken care of, the real interesting part(and one of the high points of the story, finally...) starts to occur...though that is only my gut feeling, so it might be interesting to some and not quite so much to others.


	12. Pram And The Reaper

Strongest

Chapter 12: Pram And The Reaper

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Remains of Overlord's Castle

:MK:CST:

"Lord Zetta has his body back. Doesn't that mean Lady Pram's original prediction about him getting his body back after his Netherworld was completed was proven true?"

Some of Pram's soldiers spoke amongst themselves in hushed whispers.

"Yeah, but...Lady Pram has already informed the entire universe that she wasn't a true Oracle. What does all this mean then? So confusing..."

They kept speaking to one another. Pram paid little attention on them, her only focus being on Zetta.

"Zetta, I'll ask again, how did you get your body back?"

She said to him evenly.

'How? Because this is all just one big dream come true. I get to finally kick your ass, Pram, and I'll revel in the sensation until you've finally been overcome into a slow and painful death...I'll break you apart and rend your soul from your body and maybe confine it to that doghouse throne of your's...see how you like trying to move but not being able to, not having access to your Mana energy and the like...all the things you've put me through, Pram...it's time to make you my plaything.'

Zetta wanted to say. Something deep within made him feel awkward. He had fought many of would be Overlords in order to be considered a true Overlord himself, but he never felt any great animosity towards them nor ever felt like being a completely sadistic Demon. He always felt like becoming the strongest and remain the strongest out of an impulse, one that never left him and felt as if it was ingrained into the very core of his soul. When he heard Salome's reasons for wanting to be spared and obtain power so many years back at their first meeting, he felt a sort of connection to another person for the very first time, what one might call a kindred spirit. That was also the first time he felt implied to spare another besides just merely wanting to become the strongest. His thoughts that were now focused on Pram had a much deeper motive than he had ever known when wanting to fight another Overlord. Even fighting Alex, who was a rival, never conjured up such destructive thoughts. Zetta was used to emotions of anger, but in this case of Pram's life, he had bottled it up and let it slip into the deepest recesses of his mind opposed to when he typically would act on them out right and get it over with in one sitting. He lost focus, his mind becoming foggy before he cleared it.

'Hatred for someone is to be expected in our existence...but why do all my destructive thoughts feel both oddly new yet old at the same time...as if I've reveled in the feelings of deeply wanting to destroy my enemy until they were only empty husks...when did I last feel this way if I've never felt it before in my life? I mean, sure, I kicked the crap out of all those Vegetables on that one Netherworld that was created for a component to add to my own, but it's not like I completely destroyed all of them that they couldn't just be replanted and brought back to life by regrowing. Is this rage and hatred I feel that was spawned because of seeing Pram's Netherworld...part of a memory that I don't remember?'

He went along to the lines of what his imposter had implied. That his life may have been more messed up than he could ever imagine.

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

"So...this is the infamous Zetta? Unimpressive. Do you really think you can beat me with such a scrawny body? Don't make me laugh!"

Zetta felt strange and was met face to face with some kind of Pig Demon who was dressed in royal garbs with a somewhat similar fashion sense to King Drake. Whatever the case was, both he and the Pig Demon attacked each other, the Pig with a massive axe, and Zetta himself had possession of a strange but wicked looking black drill. That fight would not have lasted for very long had his body not been so active in torturing the Pig Demon slowly with nearly every strike. He could have seriously injured or even decapitated the Pig Demon at his own pace, but did not until the end of the fight where the heavily cut Pig was sent to the floor with a completely shattered axe.

"Wait...please...spare my life and I won't ever bother you again."

The frightened Pig squealed. Much to Zetta's disgust, his body didn't comply and expertly moved the drill horizontally to tear off the Pig's bottom jaw, allowing the Demon to only scream but not talk. Bit by bit, His arms kept maneuvering the drill to disassemble the Demon into bloody pieces of flesh and liquefied bone while the Demon screamed even more loudly in agony. Soon he was nothing more than just a giant stain of crimson along the floor of the once lavish hall. The back wall to the throne had a mirror surface replace it, and he looked at his image for the first time after letting the drill impale the ground to stand up by itself.

'...!'

Zetta could not believe what he saw. He was now completely soaked in blood, but that's not what made him care in the first place. Staring back at him along the mirror's surface was the blue haired Demon that wore red clothes.

'How...! This guy...is me? No fucking way! This is...this is all...just...'

He wanted to say it was just an utter nightmare. No Demons sunk this low to kill just one other Demon.

"Why do you shutter? This is one out of several acts you've already committed of your own free will."

A voice said to him. Before Zetta knew it, images started entering into his mind. Of Demon armies that were cut down with the drill, but they got off easy, it was always the leader who was indescribably tortured in a slow and bloody death. Such vile and disgusting evil didn't exist in just any normal Demon. He became so proficient in the murdering and the blood letting that it became a kind of pleasure. Zetta could not will his mind to close, and he was continuously compelled to watch and to remember...of a side of himself he never knew existed.

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Remains of Overlord's Castle

:MK:CST:

'He remembers...or rather, he is beginning to remember, yet things still remain clouded.'

Baal thought to himself as he felt Zetta's memories through the link that bound them as one being.

'It is still too much of a risk to allow him any form of control...but I believe I now have an understanding as to bring this unexpected development to my advantage...Zetta, it will all come back with time...remember who and what it is you are...remember the purpose for which you were given that life.'

A smirk came to Zetta-Baal's lips.

"Dear sweet little Pram...aren't you quite the intelligent one? So unlike your own father? You should already be aware of my reason for coming here then."

Zetta-Baal spoke in a slightly amused tone. Zetta himself watched on with a detached sort of interest, his emotions having become as cold as the Ice magic Pram was so proficient at as Alex was to Lightning magic. This form of manipulation that was about to be used to deteriorate Pram's moral was so familiar to him now that he had seen what he was capable of...with a drill. The fact that he had the body of the red clad Demon seemed so irrelevant. He felt the impact of those killings that kept reoccurring in his head and could sum it up in numerical values if he so wanted to: fifty percent of his feelings had been satisfaction at watching the blood spew from his victims bodies under his applied killing technique, and the other fifty was an emptiness that allowed him to perform those unspeakable acts without a shred of remorse towards his victims for they were just prey. Just as Pram was about to be. Obstacles to overcome to be made the strongest and to sacrifice everything, even his own body and soul.

"What the hell are you talking about? You don't know my father!"

Pram insisted, though she looked slightly more paler than usual. Zetta-Baal's smirk only became wider.

"You need not worry about King Drake and your secret. Once he has served his purpose, he will be joining you. Now allow me to be more direct in my approach...to make you my plaything as you yourself have done to me."

He said, his tone becoming lower for added effect. His palm flared with dark fire as the Genesis reappeared in his hand. Pram backed up slightly, face red.

"Did he put you up to this? King Drake is lying! I'm not related to him, Zetta! Besides, you and I both came to terms with this a month ago. I saved Salome's life in turn for you sparing mine. There is no need for you to do this. I've already lost my reputation as an Oracle anyway, and you've regained your body and became the normal Overlord again. I don't know where you have Drake, but hand him over to me and I'll call it even for the destruction of my castle. Deal?"

Pram tried to bargain. She never wanted to appear this weak, but besides Zetta acting strange, he also knew of her secret and she had made that top priority to remain a secret so long ago. Plus she was uncertain. She felt she could take on Zetta and his armies if he were still the fairly immobile Sacred Tome, but he had somehow gotten in his body and even without Salome's powers to aid him, he was still formidable.

'Can I really take on Zetta? Wait a minute...why should I be scared? He should be a whole lot weaker now with Salome not helping him by raising his Mana energy. I may have the advantage...stupid me for not thinking that until now, he could tell my secret to the other Overlords, but not if I beat him first...something I should be able to do by now, right?'

Pram was starting to gain more confidence as she thought more logically on the situation. Her Mana had steadily risen closer and closer to his own level with her own conquest campaigns even while he was still strengthened by Salome's own Mana. Pram stood a chance of defeating the self proclaimed strongest and that was what she planned to do, then she'd make him her plaything for eternity and make sure he never left her Netherworld and spread the secret.

"On second thought, maybe I should just take you down myself, Zetta. Just because you have your body doesn't make much difference without the same level of power you once had. Your tempting fate, whether you like it or not."

She said to him with complete confidence regained. But she had no idea of the other source of power within Zetta, a source from the life of the Overlord of legends. Zetta-Baal was not discouraged by this, but by the fact that she had spoken Salome's name. It had been enough to snap Zetta to attention and no longer view everything in his former detached manner brought on by the scattered memories that faded back into their former dormant state.

'Salome...what the hell happened to me? Where am I?'

Zetta thought to himself. His body took a step closer to Pram, and he remembered what it was his body was doing. Baal was annoyed further.

'Salome the Traitor...even her very name is able to make him continue defiance towards me once more. She remains a constant weakness...one I must do away with if Zetta is to reclaim his role or prove even more effective since having confined to the Sacred Tome itself. But first...'

Zetta-Baal did not speak again, deciding it was time to end Pram's existence for her interferences, even if she had no idea because they were completely indirect. He brought his sword down over her head with great speed and power, and Pram barely dodged by taking to the sky. She blasted large blocks of ice at him from her Pnakotic Diary, but he cut them in halve with well timed swings of the Genesis before ascending after her. Pram shot an ice spear at him, which was much harder to cut due to the speed it was propelled. Zetta-Baal simply guarded, making it shatter against his blade. The fragments of ice didn't do damage either since the blade was so wide. The Overlord rose up after to her location than Pram was able to react, and she was only able to bring up a thick ice sphere shield for defense. The Genesis cut into the thick rounded ice shield only slightly. Zetta-Baal reeled back with his massive blade before hacking away at the shield with tremendous power, making sure Pram could not make the shield freeze over again. She cast an Omega Ice spell above the Overlord's location. Zetta-Baal realized to late as he was close to breaking the shield, seeing the massive shadow looming over him.

'Got him!'

The former Oracle thought happily. Zetta-Baal was slammed in the stomach as he turned to see the large chunk of ice overhead. Before he could be smashed into the ground, however, his black fire consumed the ice spell within only a few short seconds. Pram's eyes shown wide with fright.

'That's right! Zetta is in possession of one of the rarest magic elements out there. He's the only one who can perform the black fire spells...and this is the first time I've seen him use it for something other than display. Dammit...the only other person in possession of the true opposing magic skill is rumored to be Babylon, who uses the white ice. My normal mastery of ice spells won't be nearly as effective against Zetta's element...I'll just have to attack with lesser but much more quicker ice spells then if I hope to stand a chance without any other weapon except for this spell book.'

Pram saw as Zetta came back to attack her once again. She charged at him head on as well, firing off a spread of icicles in his direction. The Genesis was well suited for defense just as much as it was for offense, though, and Zetta-Baal kept coming forward undaunted as his blade was held in front of him to deflect the annoying little ice spells. When they were just about to collide, Zetta-Baal swung himself fluidly to weave the sword through the air to land a destructive cut to Pram's torso. She reacted nimbly, already anticipating the attack, crouching low under the sweeping blade and remained just a few seconds ahead from getting her cat ears clipped off in the process. Zetta-Baal's movements were swift and he evaded as Pram tried firing an icicle barrage at him at point blank range. As the fight continued, Pram tried her best to close in steadily on Zetta more and more, a plan forming in her head. After a while of unsuccessful attempts, Pram evaded yet another of Zetta's attack and brought her palm to Zetta's stomach, summoning an ice sword to impale him cleanly through. The Overlord went flailing back, and the former Oracle was only surprised for a split second that her plan of attack actually worked completely without a single mishap before reacting again. She grabbed his equipped arm, sending an ice sword through it so he was forced to drop his weapon. She was retched back when the Overlord grabbed a fistful of her long hair, trying to throw her back so he could obtain his weapon again. She didn't allow it, sending an ice sword into his other arm.

'One strike through the heart should be able to kill him.'

Pram could hardly believe how easy things were going. He had been completely dispatched in only a two hours worth duration of fighting. She could not see any option for him to possess to have the tables turn back into his favor. She placed her hand over his chest while he had still been stunned by her previous attack, but contrary to what she expected, the Overlord swung his cape forward with his left arm, covering her in darkness. When Pram realized she was standing alone, she felt the palm of his hand reach her small shoulder from behind. She was sent screaming through the air as he sent a burst of black flame through her shoulder, turning the pale skin charred black as she skidded roughly against the rubble. Pram gritted her teeth to repress the howl of pain she wanted to release, focusing one eye on Zetta's back as he stood there, having not turned to face her. His arm was still outstretched with black flames emanating from his palm. He gave her a side long glance, the black fiery aura surrounding him and melting the ice blades from his body. He took up the Genesis once more though with some effort now that he was injured, and treaded towards the downed former Oracle.

'How the hell did he make me reappear behind him?'

Pram noticed the inlaid section of Zetta's cape no longer show with the typical red design, and shown with an image of a universe. She realized then what had happened, and it didn't bode well with her at all.

'Impossible...to be able to open a gate through the physical plane by using an inanimate object, enabling him to transport Overlord classed Demons through areas of their own Netherworld that he chooses...this wasn't in his battle data, and he's fighting completely different than analysis showed. What happened to you Zetta? The silent behavior, the use of your magic for the first time...it's all wrong! Not even those injuries have impeded your ability to hold that sword of your's or use all that magic through your hands still, either.'

Pram dragged herself back to her feet, staining her white dress with blood that flowed from her blackened shoulder as it seeped through her small fingers that clutched tightly at the numbing wound. Through levitation did she will the Pnakotic Diary to float up in the air in front of her.

"You ungrateful son of a bitch! Your really going to go back on your words now, huh? I thought I could take you on now, knowing all your battle data, but you reworked your own tactics. Now, I'm gonna get serious and kick your ass once and for all!"

The former Oracle snarled out, her aura powering up as she was encased in a translucent white sphere.

'Damn...she's going to transform. Come on body, let's take her out now. Not that I'm frightened of Pram's transformation...but what's the point of taking unneeded risks?'

Zetta thought to himself, but his body didn't stir.

'Is this not just a dream? Do you doubt your own power that much?'

A voice(Baal) said to him. Zetta was quick to take offense.

'There's no reason to doubt my power...I'm the strongest, most bad-ass, freaking Overlord there is! This is gonna be child's play since it isn't even the real deal. Stupid dreams. I'll crush this Pram like a twig, no matter what it takes...because I'm Lord Zetta, dammit!'

Zetta-Baal raised up his left hand, letting the dark flames wash over him as he too began to pulse with power that resonated with Pram's. His eyes became blood crimson, glowing dimly within the darkened outline of his form. The black beast's form reappeared in the flames that consumed the Overlord's body briefly.

'This should prove amusing, Overlord Pram. Go ahead and use your transformation, for you will still fall in the end, just like those other Overlords of this universe. Then after all that...Zetta, the time will come...'

Baal only allowed himself to further grin maliciously than before as light coursed all around the Overlord's body from the brightness of Pram's aura.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Yeah, just another short fight scene kind of chapter, with a bit more insight to Baal's and Zetta's connection once again. Hopefully the plot still remains an exciting one, without seeming to tedious because it's so drawn out at this point of the story. It's so tough for some reasons unknown to me to write about fights between a close ranged attacker and a long range one, so this Zetta and Pram fight falls short much like the Zetta and Alex ones a couple of chapters back, in my opinion. I'm just happy to know that I'm almost to the main part I want to write very much about since it has a lot of questions answered. Lastly, as always, I apologize for late updates.


	13. Pram Tempting Fate

Strongest

Chapter 13: Pram Tempting Fate

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Pram's Netherworld, Remains of Overlord's Castle

:MK:CST:

'This might be harder than I originally thought...our powers are at dead even.'

Pram thought to herself when her transformation was complete. Zetta-Baal didn't seem worried, and stood still as if allowing her the first attack.

'If we exhaust each other's power at the same time, no one could initiate the final kill. On the other hand, my vassals can just do it for me...but what if Zetta has his own vassals hiding somewhere and waiting to ambush my army and myself? I guess I have no choice but to take that risk, so...'

She formed a massive icicle in the palm of her hand before hurtling it at the Overlord's location. It came toward him quickly, and Zetta-Baal brought up his sword to guard and was pushed back by the weight of the heavy projectile that didn't shatter very easy due to it's size, making him skid back along the uneven flooring thanks to previous effort on her castle. Pram teleported behind him, reeling back her arm before bringing it forward with a mighty claw swipe to Zetta-Baal's back. Thanks to the her transformation her physical power increased substantially, and not only did she deeply wound Zetta-Baal from the back, she also forced him to whirl around and smash into the icicle. The icicle shattered, many large and jagged shards of ice biting into Zetta-Baal's back to disable the function of he decided to activate the dimensional rip. The Overlord recovered quicker than expected and charged at the former Oracle with his sword, not a single sound of pain having escaped his lips even with the many deep wounds he just incurred. Pram evaded the downward slash, but was slammed in the stomach as Zetta-Baal came forward to ram her with his left shoulder.

"Oof!"

She grunted out as Zetta-Baal then aimed his hand at her, tossing a black fireball that collided with her and sent her back further as she hit the ground with her side. She clutched her stomach that had been singed slightly with the dark flame, having burned off a small but decent sized portion of her clothing. She almost allowed herself to be momentarily surprised that Zetta used another dark fire spell, but didn't dwell on it as the Overlord came forward with a sweeping slash of his blade that forced her to evade high. She flew higher as she formed a large ice cube in her raised arms as Zetta-Baal came flying after her. He swung up with his sword as Pram swung down with the block of ice. The cube broke into pieces, and Pram hoped that the sharp fragments would injure the Overlord further, but Zetta-Baal anticipated this and evaded by veering to his right before speeding higher up to meet Pram. She didn't have the time to evade the quick thrust sent at her, and had to catch the blade's blunt sides with her hands to prevent it from impaling her. Zetta-Baal was still physically stronger, and made the blade inch closer towards her chest. He played a particularly mean trick when he decided to heat up the blade's surface, forcing Pram to let go of the Genesis before her hands melted off. He continued the thrust forward, and Pram barely evaded to the side.

'Damn...he's...!'

Pram was struck in the side as Zetta-Baal clubbed her with the hilt of his sword, striking her out of the air. He came down quickly, tackling her to the ground with enough force to cause a decent sized explosion of brick and dust that caused many of Pram's soldiers to flee before they were buried alive.

"Damn you, Zetta..."

Pram muttered out. She could hardly see with the thick dust cloud in the way of her vision. Her cat ears twitched as she heard heavy footsteps a few feet away. Following on instinct to give her the advantage, she hurled an ice spell in that direction, but the shrouded figure evaded by soaring back up into the sky. Before Pram knew it, Zetta-Baal unleashed a mighty sword beam that dispelled her only means of cover at the moment. She erected an ice barrier to protect herself, riding the attack as it lifted her upwards until she could safely escape. The Overlord kept the fight going strong again as he instantly went for her.

'Hah! There's no way I can lose if I keep attacking boldly like this. Pram won't have much longer to live with my advantages: my physical power is superior to her's, my magic techniques are superior to her's...she'll will truly know what it means to try and cross a Demon of my stature! Pram...I won't forgive you for what you did to my magnificent body! Never!'

Zetta's rage fueled Baal's control steadily more and more. He cracked Pram's shield in one mighty blow, and the former Oracle could only gawk in surprise.

'How...? Our powers are equal. How can he have so much more of an advantage over me?'

Pram could barely deflect his sword with a swipe of her claws as sparks flew.

'True, his magic is one I can't contend with, but I still shouldn't be having this much trouble. I should be able to do some harm to him. I'm a freaking powerful Overlord too, dammit!'

Pram deflected another strike as she was driven back by the power of the blow.

'All my analysis done on you, Zetta...I had believed it was intelligence that could come out on top in the end. But what is this?'

Pram was driven back further.

'Zetta...what is this power that you possess? Is this the so called undiluted and absolute power of a true Overlord? Of the Overlords who fought tooth and nail with the Angels and the Humans to be given this particular universe?'

Pram was now at the edge of her mountain. She was bleeding profusely from the deep wounds inflicted upon her that she didn't even realize she had. Zetta-Baal took a slight moment to pause as the former Oracle looked to be on the verge of collapsing. She breathed in heavily.

'Then...intelligence won't win this situation, will it? Like it has for me so many times in the past? Zetta...I was the one tempting fate after all. My army has fled, perhaps out of cowardice, but they still have the best idea. I wouldn't want to be in my position like this either, yet here I am...this is punishment. I never thought I would see the day, but it's come and I was too entangled with other things to see it coming. Saving Salome's life was not enough to save my own. We are Demons after all...we can choose to follow a code of honor at our leisure. You decided to go back on your word...'

Pram sunk to her knees, her transformation expiring for the time being, and her form going back to normal. It had not been much of a fight as she thought it would as he completely outclassed her, much to her chagrin. Zetta-Baal began focusing energy into his blade, a fiery black aura extending from the Genesis to make it longer and larger. Pram eyed the black fire that emitted from the entire sword as Zetta-Baal brought it up over his head.

'There is only one option left for me if I want to continue living...run away.'

Pram thought to herself as Zetta-Baal brought powered sword down on her head, and she teleported away at the last possible moment. A good chunk of her mountain had been reduced to small pebbles.

'Did I...?'

Zetta was put into a deep slumber once more by Baal while his control was even greater due to Zetta's rage, so there was no reason to forcefully sink Zetta into the darkness of his mind with the imposter figure the Overlord so loathed.

'It matters not if she survived. Though I did want to do more to her, there are more important things to accomplish...the horrific death should be set fo Babylon, Trenia, and Salome for sure. Then Zetta...'

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Canyon

:MK:CST:

"Where am I?"

Pram spoke softly as her eyes opened.

"Hey, your awake."

Pram heard a young voice addressed to her. She got up stiffly into a sitting position, seeing a boy with a striking resemblance to God of Destruction Alexander.

"Who are you?"

She asked, her mind a little foggy and disoriented.

"Name's Alastor, but you can call me Al. You're the Overlord, Pram, right?"

Al asked. Pram nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Pram...but where is this place? And has anyone ever mentioned that you look a lot like Alex, the God of Destruction?"

Pram inquired.

"First, your on Salome's Netherworld, second, the reason I look like Alex is because he's my older brother."

Al stated. Pram's eyes widened.

"Then...you're the successor to the title of God of Destruction. Wait...how the hell did I get to Salome's Netherworld? I could have sworn I teleported only a couple of thousand light years from my Netherworld..."

Pram said with evident shock in her voice, wincing as she felt a couple of small bumps in the back of her head as if she had been hit from behind. Al scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"About that...you did teleport into space. It had been a few inches in front of me and Alex, and we sort of...bumped into you."

Al said sheepishly. Pram sighed.

"Sheesh...thanks for the killer headache."

Pram said sarcastically.

"Sorry about that."

Al said as he lowered his head.

"Don't worry about it. Seriously, though...why did you take me to Salome's Netherworld of all places?"

Pram asked. This was the last place she wanted to be.

"Well...me and my big brother wanted to enlist your helping in killing Salome."

The boy said. The former Oracle just stared at him.

"Say that again. I don't think I quite heard that right."

She said to him. A gruff voice spoke to her instead of Al's

"Shut the hell up with that crap, Pram! You damn well heard what he said!"

Alex flew down to occupy a spot of few feet away from her. Pram scowled.

"You don't have to bite my head off! What the hell possessed you two to want kill Salome...! Unless the same thing that happened to me...!"

Before Pram could finish speaking, Alex interrupted with a singled word question.

"Zetta?"

He said. Pram lowered her head.

"Zetta."

She confirmed. Alex gritted his teeth together in anger and frustration.

"You notice anything odd about him?"

He asked. Pram looked up at him as if he had insulted her.

"Did I notice anything odd about him? Your talking to me, the super genius Overlord here. Of course I did! Hell, even a dumb log like King Drake would notice a difference from a mile away!"

Pram shouted at him. Alex backed up.

"Damn, woman. Talking about biting heads off...you don't have to bite mine, dammit! It was just a simple question!"

Alex spoke. Pram lowered her head, as her cheeks became flushed crimson.

"Sorry...talking about Zetta angers me as much as it does you, I see. I take it he ended the tie breaker between the rivalry between you and him? Either way, I'm sure your performance was quite stellar compared to my own..."

Pram said. Alex lowered his own head in embarrassment.

"Sorry about going off like that on you too...and I doubt your performance against Zetta was lesser than mine. That bastard...listen, Pram...I've experienced it for the first time...when a Demon obtains too much Mana to handle and making it go rampant."

Alex said. Pram looked back up to him with surprise.

"Your Mana went rampant? Because of Zetta? How is that possible?"

Pram was in pure shock. Alex growled at just thinking about how he was defeated.

"He played my like a harp...He faked his death and let his Mana flow into me as my rightful prize...but his Mana was so much more than I could have ever imagined. He was toying with me from the very beginning. All that time I thought as I was reaching closer and closer to his level of power...he had soared above me so much more than I could believe...that was how powerful his Mana was, that someone like me could not even control it...a power that surpasses even Salome's. How can he be that strong if he doesn't have her support, Pram? How can he...? Wasn't he suppose to be weaker?"

Alex was visibly shaking. Al also started shaking.

"Zetta then took Raiden and the others...he killed them so easily..."

The boy looked on the verge of crying.

"He had that much power then...so we really were never equal in terms of power like I originally thought when I faced him even with my transformation. Zetta...and I thought only Babylon was rumored to have such a level of Mana at one time, or so the old Dragon claimed..."

Pram said, more to herself than the other two as she began to shake just as violently at this new information. Talking about Babylon made them draw a conclusion about something, though.

"Gramps Babylon said he used to be so powerful he could have taken us all on. One Overlord against all the others at the same time is not something to be done lightly. Did Zetta...steal Gramps Babylon's power? Is that why he is so damn powerful himself?"

Alex inquired, his eyes wide with shock, and Al and Pram mirroring his own expression as they all drew to one possible conclusion to the truth behind Zetta's power.

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, solemn looking Throne Room

:MK:CST:

Salome's throne room was beautiful though it was not quite so elaborately decorated like many other Overlord's throne rooms.

"So we've finally arrived. I suppose you'd like to hear about Baal and Zetta's story now?"

Ophelia asked.

"Actually, let me get dressed in my Overlord robes, Ophelia. If there is to be a fight, I don't want to be caught unprepared."

Salome said. Opelia nodded.

"Very well. But hurry. Time isn't on our side, remember?"

Ophelia warned before allowing Micky to take the lead once more. Salome nodded before leaving to go to her bed chambers.

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Salome's room

:MK:CST:

'Something doesn't feel right...but I can't put my finger on it.'

Salome thought to herself. A Maid was in her room, sitting on a small chair and sewing a cloth.

"Oh, Lady Salome. Welcome home."

The Maid said, bowing her head. Salome nodded briskly back.

"Has someone come to visit me while I was away?"

Salome inquired. The Maid shook her head after briefly thinking.

"No, Lady Salome. Not that I know of."

She said. Salome still felt somewhat uneasy.

"Very well, you may be dismissed. Overlord Valvoga is visiting to tell me something important, so don't mind him. And please inform my army to be on the highest alert for battle."

Salome ordered.

"My lady? Highest battle alert?"

The Maid asked in confusion. Salome sighed.

"I can't go into the details, so I can only ask that you trust in my judgement."

Salome said. The Maid nodded.

"Of course. By your leave, then."

The Maid said, before exiting to the Throne Room. Salome went to her closet, slipping out of her night gown before obtaining the necessary clothing of her typical Overlord attire. Although the maids could help her with her clothing, Salome was not born into royalty to begin with in her first life, and still preferred to do thing for herself most of the time. She wasn't much of a slave driver either when it came to her Vassals and other castle retainers or Netherworld residence. Although initially viewed as a weakling Overlord, her tremendous power yet kindness won favor and loyalty with all the other Demons, making Salome someone many would want to work under. She even allowed them safe leave when she began to drain herself and her Netherworld of Mana for Zetta.

'Why do I feel so insecure? Like someone is watching me?'

Salome fitted the last of her long golden earrings on her long ears, after having put on everything else. That's when she felt a familiar presence completely.

"Seedle..."

Salome said in a low voice. The Samurai Overlord fell from the ceiling to land in front of the doors, a sadistic grin on his face.

"Been a while, Salome the Traitor. Your as beautiful as ever, I see."

He said. Salome narrowed her eyes as she turned to him.

"And your still as repulsive as ever, I see. Sneaking into a lady's room while she's away."

She countered back while summoning her short sword, Revelation, to her hand. Seedle drew the Devine Wind katanas from their sheaths.

"I could have killed you at anytime when you came here, bitch! But you were changing and I couldn't help but watch."

Seedle said with satisfaction, much to Salome's disgust.

"I'll give you credit for getting quite this close, Seedle. You were the foreign element that I was detecting all along when I came in here, yet I never realized it had been you since you hid your presence so well. But the peeping tom act...and to think you were once an honorable Samurai."

Salome said, her voice thick with anger. Seedle growled.

"I'LL KILL YOU, BITCH!"

And he lunged at her.

:MK:CST:

Outer Space, Near Zetta's Netherworld

:MK:CST:

"Okay, Trenia, the rest is up to you. Take Zetta away to your safe haven."

Babylon said, Trenia riding on his back. Trenia nodded.

"Babylon, please be careful when you go to Salome's Netherworld."

Trenia said as she got off his back. Babylon nodded.

"Don't worry. This old man hasn't thrown out the towel just yet! Ha Ha Ha Ha!"

Babylon said, before zooming toward Salome's Netherworld, a few light years away. His smiling face became serious again.

'Baal...wait for me.'

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

"Has he talked?"

Zetta-Baal asked. The Prinny nodded.

"Yes, dood. It didn't take too long either, dood."

The Prinny said.

"And?"

Zetta-Baal inquired.

"Overlord Salome's Netherworld will be the next one, then Overlord Zetta's Netherworld, and lastly will be Overlord Babylon's Netherworld at the other end of this universe, dood."

The Prinny informed.

"Is that so? An interesting line up. Is that King Drake dead?"

Zetta-Baal questioned. The Prinny shook his head.

"He makes a request to have the honor of killing Overlord Pram, dood. He won't shut up about it anymore, dood."

The Prinny said. Zetta-Baal thought on it briefly.

"Overlord Pram probably escaped my attack and still lives. If she survives what is about to come that will bring this universe to an end, then I suppose I can allow a dying Demon's last request. He won't be very useful considering how weak he is though...can he pilot a vehicle? Well, if he can't, teach him to use the second most powerful vehicle in existence. He won't be able to defeat me with it, so he will not prove a threat to me in the slightest, but it may give him the edge he needs against Overlord Pram."

The Overlord said. The Prinny nodded.

"Very well, dood. Should I send someone up to mend your clothes again too, dood?"

The Prinniy asked. Zetta-Baal simply nodded before heading into his room. He removed his tattered clothing and left them in front of the door, before sitting naked on his small throne.

'He'll wake up soon enough...and he will witness her demise. And then you will the last one, Babylon...for taking him away from me in the first place.'

Zetta-Baal looked to the ceiling, a smirk appearing on his face.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Well, here's the next chapter. Zetta and Pram's second fight is short and pointless, but it finally leads to everything connecting to Salome's Netherworld. The action should pick up easier in the next few chapters. I do hope everything wasn't too disappointing, plot-wise at least. Also, hopefully every reader and writer has a wonderful Christmas.


	14. Salome's Soiree

Strongest

Chapter 14: Salome's Soiree

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of character from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought and/or Telepathy

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Canyon

:MK:CST:

"It's already night time. Have you decided yet?"

Alex asked. Pram had her arms folded and eyes closed as she thought deeply. After a few more minutes, she nodded.

"Alright, I'm in. I'll help you kill Salome. Zetta's the ungrateful bastard who brought this on himself, and you did indirectly help me escape after all so I do owe you one. Let's go."

Pram said, beginning to hover into the air. Alex followed suit, and Al last.

"Stay here, Al. Overlords fights are no place for kids."

The God of Destruction said. Al pouted.

"Hey...you may need my help. Salome did kick your ass once after all."

The boy said. Alex glared.

"Pram's here to compensate for any back attacks. I won't be caught off guard a second time. I'll be the one catching Salome off guard."

He declared, flying off with Pram not too far behind. Al sighed.

"So he says, but...maybe I'm just being paranoid. Big bro will be fine, but I'll tag along in the back and out of his way just to make sure.

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, solemn looking Throne Room

:MK:CST:

"What the hell? It looks like Salome's forces are assembling."

Alex said. Pram nodded.

"It's as if they might have been suspecting us. I see an open glass door over there on that balcony. Looks like it leads to the throne room."

She mentioned. Alex frowned.

"Seems all kind of suspicious, as if she was waiting for some sort of hostility to arrive."

He said. The former Oracle nodded.

"It does, doesn't it...still, it would be best to head in there than be detected by all the soldiers because it might just be pure coincidence."

She offered.

"Guess there's only one way to find out."

Alex said, shrugging.

"Alex and Pram? Why are you two here?"

Micky asked, seeing the God of Destruction and the former Oracle fly in through the mentioned open glass door. The two Overlords looked at him with confusion, having never seen this form of his before this night.

"Micky? What happened to you?"

Pram asked as she looked at him, only really able to recognize him by voice alone.

"Oh yeah, you haven't seen my true form yet. Truth be told, I wasn't aware I had it until Zetta was able to bring it out during a fight a few weeks ago."

Micky said. It had been a mistake to say Zetta's name, however, as it made both Alex and Pram go on edge.

"So your on his side then, eh?"

Alex said, lighting starting to crackle all around him as he powered up. Micky took a step back.

"What are you doing? You want to fight with Zetta now even though he's in trouble and needs our help?"

The Star Overlord asked. Pram narrowed her eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about? Zetta doesn't need any help, seeing what he's done to takedown both mine and Alex's Netherworlds. Get out of the way, Micky, before I have to hurt you."

Pram threatened, moving forward. Micky drew his beam saber, Devine Light.

"There's no way Zetta would attack both of your Netherworlds when they are so far from his it would be out of his way, and besides, it's been such a long time since he's tried conquering any Netherworld lately so he must be satisfied with how things are already. I suspect that you want to harm Zetta by getting to Salome. That's beyond low. Pram might be understandable considering she can be quite manipulative, but I'm rather astonished with your behavior, Alex."

Micky said. Pram snickered.

"Still the same goody two shoes Overlord, aren't you, Micky? We are Demons however, and when we want something we get it by any means necessary. Zetta himself summed it up best. Your too much of a nice guy to make it as a more powerful Overlord, Micky."

She said to him. Micky growled.

"Hold your tongue, Pram. I'm much stronger now than you would like to believe. You'll find it much more difficult to frighten me now, because our powers are much closer to each other than before!"

Micky stated as he powered up. Pram gritted her teeth in annoyance, seeing that he was indeed speaking truthfully.

"Who's the bitch now? GAH HAA HA HA!"

Dryzen said as he took over. Ophelia took control soon after.

"Enough! There is something much greater about to occur than your hostilities towards Zetta. It's been a month, so whatever's pissing you both off, get over it for the time being."

She warned in a commanding tone.

"Shut up! If Zetta didn't get his body back and attack my Netherworld and take Raiden and the rest of my solders lives a few days ago, I wouldn't be forced to have to do things this way! He's the one who started all this shit!"

Alex argued fiercely. Ophelia was now puzzled.

"Got his body back? That's impossible, and you know it. Trenia predicted it."

Ophelia stated.

"Yeah, well she predicted wrong! My Netherworld was also attacked by Zetta, and I saw him in his original body as well."

Pram snarled, joining Alex's side.

"Impossible...unless...! No! -He- must have gotten the body...but how?"

Ophelia face read shock. Alex was getting annoyed.

"That's what we've been trying to tell you already and only now you get it?"

He questioned. Ophelia narrowed her eyes.

"You idiot! I'm not talking about Zetta having gotten his body back because he didn't. I'm saying it must have been stolen by..."

Before Ophelia could say more, Salome came bursting through the bedroom door hitting her back against the floor. Seedle came walking out calmly.

"What's wrong, Salome the Traitor? I know your better than this."

Seedle taunted. Salome got up swiftly, aiming her weapon at him.

"You seem to have improved yourself, Seedle, but it's not going to be enough."

She stated, not scared in the slightest, much to Seedle's anger.

"Insolent bitch...you think hiding behind Zetta is going to save your pathetic life? Hah, not likely if he isn't even here. He's too far on that contraption of his probably to help you now!"

Seedle said as he lunged at Salome again. The female Overlord blocked with her short sword.

"Contraption? What are you talking about?"

Salome said as she pushed against his weapons with her own. Seedle didn't get a chance to say anything as the two jumped away from each other to evade the flurry of lightning balls thrown their way. The female Overlord had little time to react as Alex came flying towards her at rapid speeds.

"SALOME!"

The God of Destruction roared as he pounded on his Devine Beat to send more lightning heading her way. Salome summoned a small fire ball to her left hand before hurtling the spell to barely cancel out his own.

"Alex! Why are you attacking me?"

She asked with surprise.

"To kill you before that psycho does of course! What does it look like?"

He growled back as his drums crackled with more electricity. He was nearly side swiped by an attack of Seedle's, as the Samurai Overlord intercepted him.

"Stupid brat! You dare to interfere a third time?"

Seedle said in a deathly calm voice as he attacked the God of Destruction with his powerful katanas.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

Alex warned as he attacked Seedle back.

'What is going on around here?'

Salome pondered as she watched the Samurai Overlord and the God of Destruction attack each other. She felt another magic attack coming and leaped away before possibly being impaled in the back by an ice spike that popped up from the ground just behind her. That's when she noticed Pram coming towards her.

"Pram...not you too."

The female Overlord muttered. Pram sighed.

"Unfortunately for you, yes. You'll be dead before you can thank Zetta for putting you in this predicament. Now die!"

Pram stated as she hurled a Giga Ice spell at Salome, who countered with a Giga Fire spell.

"This is pointless. Our magic is of the opposing element. Stop this nonsense and tell me what Zetta has to do with any of this when it's impossible."

The female Overlord said. Before Pram could do anything, Micky had taken repossession of his body and flew in between both of them, aiming his weapon at Pram.

"Salome, get out of here! You've got three Overlords who want to kill you and that's not good odds. Something may have happened to Zetta if they keep blaming him for something. Go back to his Netherworld and find out!"

Micky said. Just then, the doors to the Throne Room burst open, revealing some of Salome's troops.

"Lady Salome! Some massive black...thing is heading for the castle at incredible speeds. Our Vehicles can't stop it!"

One of them said, and it was then Al came in through the open window.

"Big Bro! Pram! Zetta's black ship is coming! We have to get out of here!"

:MK:CST:

Space Battleship Yoshitsuna

:MK:CST:

"They seem to have been expecting us, dood. You sure you don't want to dispatch any of our troops, dood?"

The right hand Prinny said. Zetta-Baal glared at him.

"This will be a matter I will take care of personally from the beginning to its conclusion. Now follow orders and retreat once the Yoshitsuna has rammed into her castle and I have disembarked. Don't ever dare question my authority again."

Zetta-Baal warned as he stood up and prepared to go to the top of the ship. The Prinny gulped audibly in fear as the Overlord left.

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room

:MK:CST:

The castle was left with a decent sized hole in one side by the rattling collision. Al was propelled forward, luckily into Alex's hands, and the God of Destruction held Al close to him.

"Hey, you okay?"

Alex asked his little brother. The boy nodded.

"I'll live."

The boy reassured as both of them along with the rest of the Overlords peered at the new arrival.

"Zetta..."

Salome murmured, seeing the Overlord appear on the tip of the Yoshitsuna's nose. He hopped off to stand on the edge of the hole made by the large battleship as it backed out of the castle and ascended to the night sky.

"I won't be denied my revenge! Not again!"

Seedle said, taking Alex's momentary distraction to his advantage as he rammed past the God of Destruction to fly speedily towards Salome. A black fire ball went ahead of him and went for the shocked female Overlord. Salome barely evaded, and now shock spread to all the other Overlord's as they all looked to Zetta and his outstretched arm with black flames dancing around his palm.

'He tried to attack Salome himself...'

Pram realized and took a nervous step back. The magic spell was clearly aimed at Salome, not Seedle.

"What are you doing, Zetta? Don't you love her?"

Micky asked, but Zetta did not answer verbally and only summoned the Genesis into his lowered hand by his side.

'...dammit...what happened now? Wait a minute...! Salome...I'm on her Netherworld?'

Zetta was completely confused when he came around.

'All the other Overlords are here, too? But...'

Before he could think more on it, his body reacted swiftly as it flew towards Salome.

"Zetta, why?"

Salome asked, but his answer was to bring his sword forward with an upward slash which she was forced to defend against. She went skidding into the wall as the Overlord pushed against her weapon with his own.

'What hell are you doing, you stupid body! LEAVE HER ALONE!'

Zetta roared.

'There will be no tolerated weaknesses. She must die.'

Another voice said. Zetta growled as he witnessed his body pull back suddenly with a full spinning motion, leading the blade to strike Salome from the side with great speed and accuracy. She could only defend partially with her weapon as she was sent to the ground by his attack, a medium sized gash now on the side of her waist.

'She's not a threat of any kind. Stop this now!'

He pleaded. The other voice began to laugh at him. His body lead with a downward strike that Salome partially evaded, receiving a small cut on her arm.

'Then why are you so avidly trying to defend her? Face it, she is a weakness for whom you can't stomach to kill with your own two hands!'

His body would have attacked again, but quickly turned to intercept Seedle and his swift moving blades.

"Zetta...so Salome is no longer a weakness, is that what your trying to convey here?"

The Samurai Overlord asked as one Devine Wind crashed against the surface of Zetta's blade. Seedle went towards the side, trying to strike at Zetta with his other katana. The Overlord back stepped to evade.

"So the silent treatment once more, is it? Then listen well, Zetta, because you will not have the privilege of killing her. Too long have I strived for this moment and you will not take it away from me as you have repeatedly done so in the past! Understand? You will NOT have her!"

He spat vehemently in between attacks. It was rather ironic that he would defend Salome just so that he could obtain the chance to kill her later rather than just letting anyone else do the deed. Such was the result of his obsession with his revenge. Zetta-Baal retreated back as the flurry of attacks kept coming.

'Micky, Zetta is...'

Ophelia began to speak to Micky, but he cut her words off.

"Not now, Ophelia. I must keep complete focus!"

He said while blocking off the rest of Ophelia's words as he rushed towards Salome, who stood up and remained leaning against the wall with some of her vassals who snuck over to her while Zetta-Baal was being occupied by Seedle.

"Salome, call the rest of your solders and castle retainers off and have them evacuate from the Castle! They don't stand a chance against him."

Micky informed the female Overlord.

"It doesn't matter! Lady Salome needs our support."

A Witch said.

"Why is Lord Zetta doing this? You've given him no reason to harm you at all, Lady Salome."

A Healer said as she healed the female Overlord's wounds that had been incurred by both Seedle and Zetta. The physical wounds were not nearly as deep as the emotional ones, and Salome was kept pondering about Zetta's strange behavior. If he had his body back, wasn't he suppose to be happy? She watched as Zetta-Baal knocked Seedle back before zooming back towards her, only this time Valvoga stepped in to guard against Zetta-Baal's sword with his beam saber.

"Salome, call them off."

Micky said in a strained voice as he tried to keep the Overlord at bay. Salome seemed to regain some resolve as she stood straight.

"All of you retreat from here. Valvoga is correct when he says none of you stand a chance. I don't want to hear any objections. Let the Overlords worry about the Overlords."

She ordered. The vassals looked as if they would object, but ultimately stepped down and left to spread the word to the remaining castle members who weren't caught in the Yoshitsuna's crash. Salome readied herself as she saw Micky get pushed out the way. The former master and apprentice's blades crossed in a blaze of sparks.

"Zetta, I'll ask again...why are you doing this?"

She asked, barely able to hold him off. He did not answer. He was much more powerful than he had previously been, and she could tell. Somehow he seemed to have amassed a great deal of Mana in a very short amount of time.

'Salome...there should be no reason why I should be feeling sorry you. That voice is right. You are a weakness, yet...somehow I don't care if you are. Shit, why do I have to be so damn weak when it comes matters concerning you? Tell me...why? I couldn't kill you even if you were only a insignificant dream? That's how fucking weak I, the Strongest Overlord, really am?'

Zetta asked himself, finally admitting that he did indeed have a weakness. He had known it all along but kept the feelings repressed. He felt nothing but disgust for himself, that he had the gall to pronounce himself as the Strongest when he couldn't even pretend to eliminate Salome even if he wanted to. His body eased his sword off against Salome's blade slightly, faltering little by little. Salome noticed and looked deeply into his eyes, hoping to find the answer to her question but they remained as they always have been. Empty. The voice spoke to Zetta once more, anger becoming ever so evident in the usually calm and collected tone.

'Zetta, you don't need her. You can destroy her...just remember...who and what you really are. The true Zetta...'

The voice was interrupted as Micky came to Salome's aid and struck Zetta in the side of the head with the hilt of his beam saber. The Overlord was left open to an attack as Micky followed up with a wind spell to try and knock him on his feet. Zetta went skidding on his back but flipped back into a kneeling position.

'...the Demon who stained everything crimson with the blood of all other Demons using only the Warlord DX.'

The voice concluded. Zetta's body stood up with difficulty, head lowered as he breathed heavily. Micky used that moment to speak to Salome again.

"I don't get what's going on, but let's try and subdue him. We might be able to obtain some answers that way."

The Star Overlord suggested.

"Something seems... to be distracting him. Just like that one time when I fought him on my Netherworld."

Alex said to himself, noticing that Zetta wasn't really fighting back. Alex started to hover in the air, starting to move towards Zetta.

"What are you doing, big bro? Shouldn't we get out of here while Zetta's distracted?"

Al asked. Alex turned back to his brother, but said nothing and went to look at Pram who stood a few feet away from their location.

"Hey Pram, if your planning to retreat, can you take Al with you?"

He called out to her. She looked at him in surprise.

"Your not planning to retreat? Even if he's not fighting back, Zetta may be biding his time and toying with the others and preparing for an even more devastating counter attack."

She said to him, watching as Salome intercepted a writhing Zetta and tried speaking to him while he clutched his forehead. Seedle had used that moment to his advantage and tried to sneak up on the female Overlord while her attention was diverted completely to Zetta, but the Samurai Overlord was then intercepted by Micky who used the Devine Light to keep Seedle occupied. Alex simply shrugged.

"I'm starting to find Valvoga's idea rather appealing. I'd like to know what crawled up Zetta's ass that would lead to his personality change. I mean, come on, he even attacking Salome before our very eyes. Zetta would never do that in his right state of mind despite all that tough talk of his, correct? I just wish the number of Overlords here was greater so me, Valvoga and Salome would stand more of a chance, if your going to retreat, Pram. Seedle will be a mixed bag in terms of help considering he'll only fight Zetta when Salome's life is potentially threatened. Even old gramps Babylon and that stupid King Drake would be appreciated at this moment."

The God of Destruction inquired. Pram had to admit she was intrigued, but not sure if she would be inclined to follow through if it meant losing her life(most Demons do look out for number one first and foremost, of course). When Alex mentioned King Drake however, she decided to help.

"I guess you can count me in, then. It would be nice to get some answers."

Pram spoke up, much to Alex's relief for her wanting to stay, as well as dread since no one might be around to take care of Al if things didn't work out. Pram, of course, had her ulterior motive for continuing the fight.

'If the old man was captured, he's probably held in the big black ship Zetta has. If we can beat Zetta, I can capture the old man back and keep my secret safe!'

The former Oracle believed. Meanwhile, Zetta's body attacked Salome. However, the swinging of his sword was not wild per se as much as it was unfocused. The female Overlord could evade the strikes easily.

"Come on, Zetta, talk to me. What happened to you? How did you get your body back?"

She asked, but he remained silent while clutching his forehead and covering one eye with his palm while the visible one glared at her.

"Zetta, please...don't do this."

She kept pleading, unaware of the struggle within.

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

The darkness had ensnared Zetta once more as his imposter stood before him in the vast expanse of space, drowning out Salome and her Netherworld.

"Your becoming a great hindrance, Zetta. It is time to sleep once more or else no progress will be made."

The imposter said. Zetta was prepared to strike him, but held back.

"I don't want to have any part in this dream any longer, so I won't attack you. I'm gonna wake up now."

He told his imposter, who only scoffed at the book.

"Wake up? You want to throw away all your desires to become the strongest just for some woman? Disgusting...this was not how you were raised to be."

The imposter said, eyes narrowing.

"I haven't thrown away anything. I AM the strongest. I've reached it so long ago and I'm satisfied already. I don't need these dreams anymore about being in my body. It's gone and I accepted that already, so just get the fuck out of my head. It's been fun, but now I'm getting out of here. Got to start the day off right with the minions and all."

Zetta said as he turned away, floating away from the imposter.

"You know all that you just said is a lie. Deep down the desire to become the strongest keeps pulsing along with your heart beat. To be satisfied now and simply rule the sheep is not the desire of the one created by Baal. Remember well, for your desires are his desires."

The imposter spoke back, making Zetta stop. Those words brought back the memory of the child left in a near death state in darkness before the red clad Demon showed up. Zetta didn't know if the imposter's words triggered that odd memory, but his eyes began twitching with growing fury.

"What the hell is that suppose that mean?"

When he turned, he was faced with nothing. It only made his anger peek further.

"ANSWER ME!"

He yelled to the stars but no answers were offered, only more questions as the voice spoke again.

"What? Did you think you were brought to life by normal means? Did you think your purpose was so simple? Of course not. It was why you were branded with that name. Zetta. The final piece to the destruction of all things living and non-living in all universes currently in existence and beyond. Even the destruction of his entire being."

Zetta spotted the red clad Demon from the corner of his eye and turned to face him.

"Who the hell are you? Why do I keep feeling as if I know you? Or are you really a part of me?"

He spoke to the Demon, who did not answer immediately.

"Sleep. The time of your sacrifice has not yet come. Regardless of that, forget about this universe you know so well, forget about the woman you foolishly fell in love with, or the child you foolishly decided to shelter within your Kingdom. Forget about it all. For you Zetta, there is only one relevant truth in your entire existence..."

The Demon said, as a black fog engulfed him, taking shape of the large black giant. The Demon's voice came out twisted and distorted.

"...and he is known as Baal the Almighty."

:ToBeContinued:

Note: First update within the new year, but unfortunately it's not a good chapter, though it is a fairly long one. Too much chaos is occurring since so many main characters were put into one scene that it made it tough to decide who were the most important ones to write about and who were the ones who didn't need quite as much emphasis. Well, at least Ophelia seems to have figured out Zetta already but keeps getting interrupted and unable to explain anything, even to Micky himself. Zetta and Baal's relation is revealed even more clearly than before while still remaining in the general sense. Things will get more specific as the chapters go on, but that has been obvious since the very beginning so I'm rambling in my statement, aren't I? I apologize for the many areas wrong with the characters in this chapter, but I'm still only used to spotlighting about two or three characters in a chapter at once, not like seven or eight but I'll keep trying to improve. As always, I apologize for updating so late.


	15. Awakened Zetta

Strongest

Chapter 15: Awakened Zetta

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought and/or Telepathy

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

"Damn this thing. Every single time I try and blast it, I always end up going blank. I hate to have to do this, but maybe running is the best solution. I sound so pathetic...ME of all people, running away...Tch!"

Zetta went flying in the opposite direction from the large shadow that followed him, consuming space along with it's growth. This was the only tactic Zetta really had left though, as being a book in a dream did make things rather tough as he couldn't do much but shoot the Zetta Beam anyway.

'Great...but where do I run to? I can't exactly hide anywhere if there isn't anything around to hide myself with. Stupid outer space.'

Zetta continued onward, doing his best to ignore the lulling beckon of the shadow as it spoke his name.

'Dammit...what is this feeling? It's as if I'm compelled to go back to that thing...Come on! I've gotta keep going!'

Just as things were starting to feel hopeless, a spark of light caught Zetta's attention. It appeared to be just a star that shown more brightly than the others. It was the only thing different amongst everything else.

'That light...who cares? If it can get me to wake up then so be it!'

Zetta tried to go faster, but could only achieve a little boost in acceleration considering his circumstances. The shadow spread faster as Zetta got closer to the light.

'Shit...! I'm not gonna make it...'

He could feel it drawing ever closer, falling over him like a cage of dense fog. Zetta's sight turned to black.

"NO! Dammit, not yet!"

He said through clenched teeth. He decided to teleport quickly since he could make an estimate to the light's location, as it was the only way to escape before unconsciousness took him over. Zetta was engulfed in red light before fading away, thankfully evading the shadow.

"Zetta..."

It spoke, making Zetta realize that he was only a few feet between the light and the darkness again. He made his book body go as fast as he could.

"Come on...!"

He chanted to himself, seeing the light grow bigger as he dared not turn around, or he might see the shadow just a tap away from capturing him once more. Zetta's vision was filled with nothing but white for the very first time as he disappeared from the shadow's grasp.

'No...he has entered the binding link!'

:MK:CST:

Unknown (again...)

:MK:CST:

"Where the hell am I?"

Zetta looked all around but found nothing but white all around him. His voice echoed as if he were in a cave yet he was only in an empty expanse of light with no discerning location.

"So...now where do I go?"

Anywhere could be the right or wrong direction. Zetta simply decided to go to the place he was facing...as best as he could discern anyway from having turned to look around for anything. Soon the annoying light faded back and Zetta found himself in outer space again.

"Now what? Huh...some planets are over there? This still doesn't look like my universe though. Guess I'll check one just in case..."

He didn't really have much alternative. As he made his way to the blackest looking planet he had ever seen, a beam of light erupted from it, and to Zetta's complete shock, it destroyed all the other planets in it's path. The beam's destruction to the planets caused a massive chain reactions of explosions within all the other things in space, namely the stars. Zetta was totally baffled by what he was witnessing.

"Oh shit...this entire universe is...disappearing?"

The explosions came closer and closer, but to go back would mean to intercept the shadow. Zetta decided to go forward, knowing this had to just be his subconscious playing tricks on him. He was still awed by what he was witnessing as everything just exploded and left nothing but darkness in it's wake. He kept going for that strange planet that emitted the destructive beam, as it seemed to be the only thing not affected. The task was proving difficult however, as it blended so well with the coming blackness. He was glad to know that his book body passed through the massive explosions with no injury, which meant it was all just an illusion.

'Damn, am I even going in the right direction?'

Zetta thought to himself as the explosions traveled too far to be able to pinpoint the black planet anymore. Zetta felt nervous as he simply kept moving forward. Even if the darkness was solace to Demons as light was to Angels and Humans, a darkness where a Demon could not even see anything felt foreboding. Luckily, the feeling gig not last long as light started to present itself in front of Zetta, like an open doorway. Something cast a shadow, however, and he saw the red clad Demon stand there to block the entrance. He felt trapped. The red clad Demon walked further in, and to Zetta's surprise, he was ignored. His eyes followed the red clad Demon, to the bloodied child that was bunched up on the floor.

'This is...'

Zetta realized that this was that supposed memory of his, and he had an outside perspective. He saw the mouth of the Demons speak to one another, though no sound came out. Zetta decided not to care considering he had heard the speech before and decided to walk out of the opening with blinding light.

:MK:CST:

Unknown (yet again...)

:MK:CST:

'Now where the hell am I?'

He looked around, seeing nothing but a bunch of decapitated bodies. Blood covered everything.

'Another memory. Is this...?'

He was distracted as movement caught his eye. Zetta turned swiftly to see what was going on, only to find a small brigade of Demons torn apart by a large drill. No sound existed here much like the previous place, much to Zetta's annoyance. The red clad Demon that was presumably Zetta himself, walked off after hefting the blood stained drill over his shoulders as he began walking slowly towards a twisted looking castle upon a far off mountain that looked as if blood hadn't touched ground yet. Seeing the drill touting Demon was all the information Zetta needed to know this was probably that other memory of his. To believe it or not was still completely for Zetta's decision however, though he could not think of any other suitable reason why he would have such strange memories unless they were true.

'If that was what I looked like before...hmmm, maybe I can find the memory of that red haired Demon. That imposter said I was altered. If that's the case, maybe this outer perspective can shed some light onto why exactly that Demon decided to do what he did. He could have possibly killed me back then, yet spared me. Why?'

He knew he had no where else to go but in the direction of the Demon who was heading to the castle. That's exactly what Zetta did, but when he got there, all that remained was the blood stained throne room and no Demon. No, he did see the Demon, who had his palms flat upon the glass surface. The red clad Demon just kept looking at himself in the mirror, and Zetta wasn't sure why. The Demon didn't speak at all, not that it would have mattered, since everything appeared to be muted.

"Great...Why don't you do something already? DO SOMETHING!"

Zetta yelled into the elongated ear of the Demon, but he did not react. Of course he wouldn't if Zetta wasn't a part of this place. Even as no sound came, the world began to shake.

"What the hell? Oh shit! He's here..."

Zetta muttered to himself, seeing through a large hole in the side of the castle as the black giant enter into this world.

'So now what do I do?'

He pondered to himself, seeing the giant Demon come closer. He leaned against the mirror wall, but ended up going through it instead, much to his surprise. He landed on his back, looking up at stars.

"Dammit...so it was the mirrors all along that was the exit. Should have known."

Zetta berated himself as he floated back up to be able to view where he was now, because so far, not a whole lot of things made any sense. He was now on some desolate world. Many jagged mountain peaks greeted him, but they were not of the natural variety.

"A major struggle took place here. All this risen ground...I don't think I remember anything like this happening."

He decided to go higher and get a peek of his surroundings. The path of destruction almost carried itself in a straight line, so Zetta decided to head to where the path stopped. When he got there, he noticed two Demons.

'That Demon with the red hair...and the one lying on the ground is...!"

Zetta eyes widened in surprise. The red clad Demon lay on his back in a pool of blood. Zetta realized which memory this was now.

"This was...is the place that imposter said I had been altered. Then...Trenia is suppose to be here, right? That Demon with the red hair had been talking to her then he made a wish on the Sacred Tome, this universe's ultimate relic. The damned book that made me lose my body in the first place thanks to Pram's meddling. So the main question is who is this guy and why did he just have the book on him like that?"

He questioned. The red haired Demon's mouth began moving, and Zetta turned to see if he could spot Trenia anywhere, but the little girl had not shown up at all when the red haired Demon pulled the Sacred Tome free. Zetta noticed something for the first time. The red haired Demon did not have a typical humanoid appearance like with his face. The rest of his body was snake like, and when he opened the book and wrote in the wish, he had long tendrils come out of the large sleeves of his blue robe.

'Now that I think about it...impossible! Is this old gramps Babylon? The old Dragon has a smaller transformation? I had no idea...but then again, it's not like I ever bothered to asked him before in the first place. No way. I'm probably just jumping to conclusions. Babylon and Trenia never met before a month ago anyway, right?'

Zetta had been distracted from his thoughts when the dying body of the red clad Demon began to float into the air. Beams of red light began to shine from the open wounds, closing them up. Slowly the body began to change. Long blue hair eventually got even longer and turned a fiery and wild red. Dark skin became lighter and lighter, until it finally became a very pale colored skin tone. The tattered red clothing worn was still the same even if the physical appearance differed now (for obvious reasons, of course).

'Me...'

He saw the body, his body, falling back to earth but was caught within the odd red haired Demon's grasp. The Demon spoke some more as he inspected Zetta's face, but Zetta hadn't seen this part of the memory to know what it was the red haired Demon was saying. Zetta lowered his head in thought, only partially paying attention to the red haired Demon as he floated away.

'That fake wasn't really lying then? Was this really how I was born into this universe? Killed by some Demon only to be resurrected with a different body? That mysterious old man on that small ice cube of planet who raised me was lying all along. Or perhaps he did it to protect me? Dammit! This is my head...what can I truly believe anymore? An old fart who said he was really my grandfather and that I fell into a coma and developed amnesia that erased my childhood memories and of the rest of my family, a memory that I've known and believed in for millions of years? Or this vision of a red haired Demon who tried to model my previous body into one somewhat like his own, a memory I only just knew about perhaps a couple of days prior to this very moment?'

He felt sick all of a sudden.

"Who the hell am I, really?"

He said softly, trying desperately to decide now that he realized his decision could go either way at this point, but ultimately not knowing which one to choose to permanently follow as an absolute truth.

"You've known all along. You are Zetta. The Demon with the body that has access to destroy everything, even an entire universe. And to think, you've only lusted for conquering simple worlds to build up your Mana power so far."

The twisted voice spoke. Zetta swirled around quickly, and was barely able to evade and avoid getting trapped within the black beast's fist. He increased the distance between each other.

"You...what are you anyway? You seem to be a lot more than just some figment of my imagination now that I really think hard about it."

Zetta said.

"You know what I am. You know who I am. Stop thinking on the surface and dig even deeper. The answer is within you, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not."

The Demon said. Zetta growled irritably.

"I don't have time for this riddle crap. To hell with it all. I don't care what's true or not anymore."

He spoke. The Demon outstretched his hand towards the living book.

"Then sleep!"

The giant demanded as he lunged. Zetta was already heading in the direction he had seen the red haired Demon gone. Zetta ended up in a strange place. Some sort of tube with bands of light by the looks of it.

"There's only one way to go. Then maybe I should just..."

Zetta thought briefly as he turned back to the entrance point he had used to get here. His eyes flared up as he shot a Zetta Beam at the ceiling, before moving himself in a circular motion to blast the rest of the small area. A great rumbling was starting to occur.

"NO!"

Zetta heard the Demon's voice on the other side.

'I've got to destroy this passage since I can actually see it. I don't know what it is, but if it's bad for his, then it must be something good for me.'

Zetta though as he powered up his attack to fire off an even more powerful laser. Zetta tried as hard as he could, but the passage seem to regenerate little by little, so he pushed his limits even farther to try and sever whatever this path was.

'Come on...I want to wake up...I want to rule and bully all my Vassals again...I want to see them...Salome...Trenia...'

For how long he was at it he could not be sure, but the Demon's voice became more and more feint, but Zetta was starting to feel drained as well. He then felt himself being propelled backwards when the voice completely died down.

"Now what...? What's going on, dammit!"

:MK:CST:

Outer Space, edge of Universe, outskirts of Babylon's Netherworld region

:MK:CST:

Zetta's eyes opened so quickly, Trenia shrieked in surprise (something that wouldn't normally happen under the right circumstances, of course).

"Trenia...?"

Zetta said softly. The little girl's surprise was replaced with joy and she hugged the Sacred Tome tightly to her body. Deep down he was happy to see her, but as the most Bad Ass Freaking Overlord there ever was, he made sure he didn't look or sound happy. Can't have that when trying to look Bad Ass.

"Zetta! You've finally woken up!"

She said. Zetta was now confused.

"Finally?"

He asked, dreading the answer.

"Yep. It's been five whole days since you went unconscious."

She told him happily. Zetta frowned.

"Five days? Dammit, don't ever leave me in suspense like that again! You had me thinking I was sleeping for a thousand years or something."

He said, sighing with relief that he hadn't slept THAT long.

"Sorry."

Trenia apologized.

"Speaking of being unconscious...why the hell are we all the way out of the middle of nowhere? Babylon's Netherworld is all the way over there...this is the edge of the universe, isn't it? Why the hell are we all the way out here? What's going on?"

Zetta questioned. Trenia wanted to tell him the reason, but she was well aware that it was not in Zetta's nature to run away from the Demon who was truly the strongest Overlord. It had been that reasoning that almost stopped her from telling Zetta about Baal in the first place, but she knew it would have been infinitely more dangerous to not let him know. She steeled her nerves.

"Baal is coming, Zetta. Like I said before, there is no way for me to truly know for sure, but I just have this gut feeling. I know it's not in you to run away, but I beg of you to reconsider this once, Zetta. No matter the body he possesses, Baal is extremely formidable. I know of a safe place to take you. Salome will be with us shortly. Please, Zetta, follow me."

Trenia spoke with urgency. Zetta was not compelled to do as she recommended. Mention of Salome brought Zetta thinking about the dream when he viciously attacked her. Back when she was his apprentice, he didn't really care about how much he hurt her. But here and now...

'Dammit. I really have gone soft...wait a minute. My dreams...first Seedle, then Alex, then Pram and technically King Drake...Valvoga was skipped, then they all show up except for King Drake onto Salome's Netherworld? It's only slightly off but that sequence is in accordance to their Netherworlds location. Seedle's the farthest, and then Salome's would be right next to my own...damn, I'm not liking where this thought process is going...Baal, could he really have...?'

Zetta felt anxiousness settling within him.

'No way could that have been real. I'm just being paranoid...but one indiscreet peep can go unnoticed by the masses, right?'

He thought to himself.

"Trenia, stop being such a wimp about Baal. Go back to my Netherworld and don't follow me. Don't even tell anyone I'm outside of my castle."

With those words, Zetta teleported away before Trenia had a chance to tell him anything or stop him.

"No, Zetta! Wait!"

She had no choice but to go after him.

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room

:MK:CST:

"It felt pretty good to do that!"

Pram acknowledged as she slammed the former Zetta's body with another ice spell that sent him sprawling back into the lightning cage Alex had created to bind the Overlord for the time being.

"Stop that! You want to provoke him further?"

Salome said as she turned to the former Oracle and God of Destruction. They had caught her off guard while she was trying to speak to Zetta and blasted him with a succession of spells before the female Overlord could do anything. Finally Alex had trapped him within the lightning cage and allowed Pram to keep blasting ice spells so that Zetta would keep ramming into the binding spell and get electrocuted.

"We're just trying to knock him unconscious for a bit. Then we can tie him up to torture and interrogate him. Sheesh, you've been a Demon for how long and you still let those old Human emotions rule you whenever Zetta's involved, Salome?"

Alex said as he turned to her. Zetta stood up, hand clasped over his forehead. No, not Zetta. Baal himself had arisen.

"He has broken the link..."

Baal spoke softly as he opened his eyes, hand falling to his side.

"All because of them..."

With a wave of black fire, the lightning cage was destroyed.

"Their interferences..."

His anger began to peak to unmentionable lengths, yet he was able to keep his outward appearance as calm as ever.

"And him..."

He brought the Genesis to rest across his shoulder as he began moving slowly towards Salome.

"His weaknesses made me let my guard down, made me become too lenient..."

He closed the distance at a steady pace, eyes being overshadowed by the crimson flamed hair that moved about more vigorously on his head. Black flames seeped out from between the fingers of his clenched fist.

"I am at as much fault as they are this time. An error in judgement that will not occur ever again."

He seemed to have concluded. Everyone looked at him as if he had gone mad. Zetta was no longer with him, so there was no longer a need to put up the silent treatment. He, the Legendary Overlord, was in a body that was all his own. His right. His claim. His legacy.

"He's talking."

Pram said in surprise.

"Uh, okay? Who's this -he- and -them- that he keeps spouting off about, though?"

Alex asked. Even the battling Seedle and Valvoga had stopped to glance at the Legendary Overlord. Micky's surprise was able to make Ophelia kick him out as the main persona and allowed her to finally warn Salome, and everyone else by extension.

"Salome, don't let him get too close! That's not Zetta! It's Baal! He's possessed Zetta's body."

Everyone turned to face her, expressions of shock on their faces followed by the expression of apprehension as they gazed back to Baal, expecting an attack at any given moment.

"Ophelia...it's been a long time since we've last met. How amusing to see that you've been reincarnated into the body of another Overlord along with your precious Babylon's gift to you, that pet Dryzen. You should have remained dead. What's the point of living when your only going to end up dying by my hands a second time?"

Baal mocked, his tone rising slightly to show some amusement. Ophelia seethed.

"You asshole..."

Her words made a sneer cross his face.

"Please...tell me something I don't already know. Like how you would enjoy perishing a second time, perhaps? But I'll deal with you later..."

He said, turning to face Salome.

"Salome the Traitor, we meet for the first time...it was you...who was one of many to cause such an injustice to me."

Baal said simply as he held up his free hand, black flames swirling around his palm.

"Baal...what do you mean?"

The female Overlord asked, having to refrain from calling him Zetta, as she backed away slightly, fire swirling in her own free hand though she didn't raise it to Baal yet.

"Ponder that while your life is on the line!"

The Legendary Overlord said in a slightly enraged tone as he shot a black fire ball at her direction. Salome knew it wouldn't prove really effective to use her spells against his, but she had also anticipated that he would shoot the spell at too great a speed than she could simply dodge, so she needed to hold it off for a second or two. She hurled her own fire ball at his spell, but it simply ripped right through.

'Too strong!'

Salome thought as the black fire was nearly upon her in an instant. She knew she was going to be struck by the spell, but the impact never came as Salome ended up being protected by some kind of snow flake shield of some sort that appeared before her, canceling out Baal's spell.

"White Ice...then..."

Baal muttered as a massive shadow flew across the castle. Babylon swirled in the air, positioning his head to peer into the large hold in the Castle's side.

"Zetta..."

The Dragon Overlord spoke in soft surprise. Baal smirked.

"Babylon, my old friend...what a pleasant surprise. I was hoping to meet you last, but you've done me the honor instead it seems."

Baal said to the old Dragon. Babylon snarled.

"You are...Baal! So...you've claimed Zetta's body after all."

The Dragon Overlord spoke calmly. Baal chuckled softly.

"You of all people should have known my final legacy would come back to me. Partially at least. Zetta's soul may prove some use other than dying so early, however. He's confined to the Sacred Tome now, is he not?"

Baal questioned, though already knowing the answer. Babylon's eyes narrowed sharply.

"You will not have him, Baal. That boy has suffered enough by your hands."

The Dragon Overlord claimed.

"Babylon...that has always been your problem. Too much of a soft hearted fool for your own good. Both you and Ophelia. It's hard to believe you were born a Demon in the first place. I have no interest in fighting some sentimental old Dragon, however. I'll have the Yoshitsuna take care of you for me."

Baal said. With a snap of his fingers, the Yoshitsuna descended back to Salome's Netherworld. Babylon spared it only a small glance.

"Don't bother. You want a fight, Baal? That can be arranged!"

Babylon declared as he reared his body back before lunging forward at the Legendary Overlord. Babylon's body decreased dramatically until it was nothing more the small red orb. It shattered, hurtling the more humanoid aged Babylon free. The Dragon Overlord continued his descent at tremendous speeds. Baal raised his sword as Babylon summoned a massive battle mace with a shaft that was nearly as long as a spear. The shaft was also elaborately designed with Babylon's serpent like body coiled around it, doubling as a grip as well. Babylon raised the giant weapon overhead before slamming the large spiked ball end at Baal's direction. The very impact of Babylon's weapon sent Baal deep into the mountain, making both it and the rest of Salome's castle fall apart with the devastating strike. The rest of the Overlords flew off before the mountain was now just a pile of rubble.

"Who the hell are you and what have you done to the real old gramps Babylon?"

Alex asked the old man who hovered beside him.

"Yeah, I thought old gramps Babylon had Alzheimer's disease. You seem to remember things all too well, though."

Pram added. Babylon turned to them.

"You youngsters don't have to be so surprised. It's called putting up an act. Enough about that, however, all of you must get out here. You need to meet up with..."

Babylon stopped mid-speech as he heard the rubble being disturbed. Baal crawled out of the destroyed mountain, looking towards Babylon with a predatory glee.

"The Last Impact. The weapon with the strength reminiscent of the great Dragon Overlord Babylon's swishing tail as he dances amongst the stars. You've grown very old Babylon, but your strength is definitely not so fleeting as your appearance even after so many years..."

Baal muttered, ripping his cape free from the rest of the debris. Babylon remained passive.

"...come now, it has been so long since all three of the original Overlords have been together in one place. Let the younger generation witness a true battle for once before their fates are sealed. And allow me to pay you back for it was you who served me and my son the first injustice, after all. You and Trenia. But since she's not here..you'll be the first!"

Baal took to the air like a rocket as he went straight for Babylon. The Dragon Overlord tightened his hold on the Last Impact.

"Injustice? No...you don't know how badly you twisted Zetta's body and mind already. You are no father, and you never were. A parent does not do what you have done to their only child. You turned him into a murder machine. Nurturing his body so you could then kill him and use it as your own...all because of your insecurities. Baal...your ambitions to become the Strongest have gone too far when you decided to create that poor child. Someone like you does not deserve Zetta!"

Babylon dived down to intercept Baal. Sounds of clanging metal that totally put thunder to shame could be heard all throughout the night.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: This chapter mostly spotlights Zetta, Baal, and Babylon. This chapter is also pretty confusing, I'm sure, but all I can ask is for the readers to bare with me. The next chapter, too, will be filled with quite a bit of plot heavy dialogue but hopefully things continue to remain interesting at the very least.


	16. Babylon's Night

Strongest

Chapter 16: Babylon's Night

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Remains of Overlord's Castle and Burning Spirit Mountain

:MK:CST:

"You think you can keep up this pace indefinitely, Babylon? You fight too hard for your age. Why don't you just die already?"

Baal taunted as he and Babylon's weapons met, sparks blazing free off their weapons with each impact dealt. Babylon's weapon had the advantage for now, since with every hit made would rattle Baal's stance. Still, as Baal said, this could not be kept up forever as Babylon had his limitations due to his age.

"I will keep fighting to protect Zetta and the rest of the universes still alive. As long as I live and breathe, you'll always have an opposition, Baal!"

Babylon countered with both words and a vicious overhead swing that pushed Baal further away.

"All of that will disappear once my might has been revealed, Babylon. As long as I live and breathe, this is the destiny branded upon all things. There is no stopping these events, and it will only come sooner once I see the Sacred Tome and have Zetta's soul join me."

Baal stated as he charged back into battle, sword thrust forward with tremendous force. Babylon grunted softly as he defended, feeling the power behind the attack which almost caused him to drop his own weapon. The Dragon Overlord held, barely able to deflect the attack away before aiming the spiked ball at the Legendary Overlord. It blasted free from the shaft to pelt Baal across the face. Babylon grasped the long chain that held the spiked ball and shaft together, manipulating the spiked ball's momentum expertly so that it swung up and struck Baal under the chin. Baal reeled back from the blow as Babylon pulled the Last Impact back as he twisted in the air to build up speed as the spiked ball was aimed to strike Baal in the side. The Legendary Overlord brought his free hand up to catch the linked projectile.

"Not bad, Babylon. I had almost forgotten your Last Impact could extend further and be wielded differently like that, but do you honestly believe it helps? Even after you changed him, he eventually reverted back to the use of pain tolerance tests upon his body that I had put him through so long ago. He has done a good job as well, because I hardly feel anything when your weapon physically strikes me."

Baal taunted the Dragon Overlord, showing how pointless fighting really was. It was unnecessary, for Babylon had already been long accustomed to Baal's moral lowering words from previous bouts. The Dragon Overlord could not be shaken. He pulled the spiked ball free from Baal's grasp before attacking again with more variation.

"So...Zetta is Baal's child, and was taught to cause himself pain so he would eventually become immune to it. I still don't understand the connection completely, though. Zetta would have to be much stronger then, if he was suppose to be raised during Baal, Babylon, and Ophelia's generation. Unless..."

Pram kept speaking, putting a hand to her chin in thought. Alex finished it for her.

"...Baal mentioned something about old gramps Babylon having altered Zetta in some way. Even if Baal is possessing Zetta's body right now, if we all look closely, there are some resemblances between Zetta and the old Dragon's physical features. If we add things together right, gramps Babylon mentioned Zetta being raised to be just a murder machine, so if that means the two had to fight and gramps Babylon won, all or at least most of the Mana Zetta acquired back then was transferred to the old man and then he somehow changed Zetta's body. If that's the case, that might explain why Zetta might seem too weak now to be able survive against Overlords like Baal himself of those ancient times."

He said. Pram nodded.

"That makes sense. Zetta would be much closer to our own levels of power if that were the case, and it probably is. However...Baal seems highly picky, so who would he force to sire him a child? She would have to be someone very powerful for Baal to even consider mating and impregnating."

The former Oracle mentioned.

"If your all following that way of thinking, then your all wrong."

Ophelia interjected as she hovered beside the rest of them.

"What do you mean? How else would Baal be able to create life without a woman? And where's Seedle?"

Salome questioned, looking around so as not to be caught off guard by the Samurai Overlord. Ophelia simply shrugged.

"I defeated Seedle. He's powerful, but my experience proved more effective than his strength. He ran off somewhere, so there's no need to worry for now. Now to the matter at hand...Baal would never dream of procreating with a female. He wanted a pure blooded son to inherit his great Mana power. The Sacred Tome was Baal's answer. He wished for it, and Zetta was born into existence to be in the spitting image of Baal himself. Even if they were both physically the same person at one time, Zetta's power and potential were meant to exceed Baal's own. This was Baal's intent, so that he could have a body to reside in that surpassed the current limits of his original body. A body more capable of putting universes to their ends."

Ophelia explained.

"That can't be right. Trenia said that the Sacred Tome had a personality, a mind of it's own. It would never allow Baal to provide a means to end all existence, including itself. How was Baal able to wish for Zetta's creation if the Sacred Tome wouldn't allow it?"

Pram argued.

"Don't forget of whom you speak about, Pram. It's because he IS Baal that makes him the exception. Out of the three of us, his manipulation of Mana energy was the greatest. He was even able to manipulate the Mana within the Sacred Tome, the most powerful relic there is, so that it would do his bidding. So that it could not refuse to make his wish..."

Ophelia was interrupted by none other than Baal himself.

"...but that wish had backfired when Babylon, Ophelia, and Trenia interfered with the process."

The Legendary Overlord spat out as he sent an injured Babylon hurtling towards them. Ophelia caught Babylon, who was breathing heavily from exertion.

"Or perhaps I should blame her mother the most. She was the one who sent her daughter to find the two you to provide me with a distraction."

Baal kept speaking as he hefted his blade up as it became consumed in black fire before he sent the projectile towards Babylon and Ophelia. The Dragon Overlord pushed Ophelia out of the way as his Last Impact became covered in a sheet of white ice that he slammed into Baal's attack to cancel it out. Baal was in front of Babylon in an instant, and only quick reflexes kept Babylon from being caught off guard. The clash of their weapons created a large shockwave through the air that sent the other Overlords tumbling backwards.

"You deserved so much more than just that ill will. You destroyed nearly her entire family just to obtain the Sacred Tome and make your wish."

Babylon spoke tightly as he strained against the pressure Baal was using against his weapon. The Legendary Overlord smirked.

"Such rubbish. I would gladly kill them a million more times if it meant I could repeat that wish. All these universes would have already fallen to complete and silent blackness if the wish had only been successful."

Baal snarled out as he overpowered the Dragon Overlord and sent him to the ground with the flat of his blade, striking the side of Babylon's head.

"Where is it? Where is that ambition of your's, Babylon? At one point in time, were we not like brothers who shared the same goals? Demons such as us were not born into existence to protect anything. Those with little insights and dreams believe in just conquering everything. Such imbeciles. Then there are those like myself, who are willing to become the strongest at any cost. Even the lives of everything else no matter who or what they are. I will make sure no one is stronger than me when I die. No one."

Baal said coolly as he hovered over Babylon's fallen body. The Dragon Overlord rose steadily, spitting out blood from his mouth before glaring up at the Demon he once considered a friend.

"That point in time has ended and will never return. We are like brothers no longer. Stop edifying yourself for it is you who is below all others. Not in power, but even power has limits, Baal. Angels, Demons, Humans...no one is higher than one another. Each try to live their lives as best as they can, through each age, each evolution, each reincarnation. We don't have to like one another, but it doesn't mean those others don't have the right to exist within the universes they are born into. You have set your sights on a prize that cannot be claimed, to become the strongest when it is not up for you to decide upon. Others will surpass you, they will surpass me...that's the way things will continue to be. I still admire your convictions to never give up even to this day, Baal, but this is simply beyond anyone. Even yourself. Accept it."

Babylon spoke just as calmly. Baal's anger rose further.

"Heh, heh, heh...Babylon...if your trying to anger me, then you have succeeded. But do you honestly think you can steer me off the path that I have chosen with that speech? The path that only I can walk? The path that me and my power alone can succeed in? I think not. As you have just said, I'm not one to lay down the towel quite so easily. Now shut up and die!"

The Legendary Overlord stated.

"You first. Salome, forgive me for what I am about to do."

Babylon apologized as he thrust the Last Impact deep into the ground of Salome's Netherworld. He flew high into the air as he released the chain, letting extend to amazing lengths. Before anyone knew it, they found themselves in space.

:MK:CST:

Outer Space

:MK:CST:

"Huh? What the hell is happening?"

Al asked, eyes widening in surprise at what he was witnessing. Babylon had pulled the entire planet out from under the Overlords, spinning it around and around as if it were the spiked ball of his weapon.

"Damn, I thought big physical masses like planets could only be moved with the use of Mana energy, but the old gramps is using his own physical power to move it at incredible speeds!"

Alex gaped as well.

"Then you thought wrong."

Ophelia said with a smirk.

"Um...what about the rest of the residences of my Netherworld?"

Salome asked.

"They're probably having the worse quake of a lifetime."

Ophelia told the female Overlord. Salome cringed at this information. Baal was finding the whole ordeal extremely amusing, however.

"So...this is your answer? I've taken down entire universes, but you will fight me with just a pathetic planet? Bring it on!"

Baal taunted, seeing Babylon move forward and hefting Salome's Netherworld around in a mighty arc. The Legendary Overlord was about ready to thrust into the planet and destroy it himself, but Babylon used magic to keep Baal distracted, freezing Baal's arms over so he couldn't move them.

"You really think you can hold me off...?"

The Legendary Overlord muttered out as he let black fire consume his arms to thaw and melt the white ice. He flew towards Salome's Netherworld again, only to have his torso and cape frozen, slowing him down. Baal growled as he melted the offending magic off himself, but by then Salome's Netherworld was already upon him. He went through the atmosphere, seeing the sky pass him by in mere seconds before his body collided into the main island on the planet's backside. The collision sent Baal flying back nearly all the way across from where he came from in this universe in a haze of fire, minus the Yoshitsuna which had been far enough away to escape being hit. Everyone watched as Baal went across space like a shooting star. Babylon's breathing was labored.

"Damn...I'm really out of practice."

The Dragon Overlord said as his chain retracted and he was sent back down to Salome's Netherworld.

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Massive Crater left behind from impact with Baal

:MK:CST:

"Damn, Baal must have a real thick skull to be able to leave a dent that big in an Overlord's Netherworld."

Pram stated as she peered down at the damaged planet. Alex flew down to the very bottom.

"Sheesh...I think you might be right about that."

The God of Destruction said as he touched the ground.

"Hopefully he'll fry into a tiny black crisp after receiving a hit like that. For an old guy, Babylon's pretty cool."

Al said, not having quite gotten over the shock of seeing someone move a planet like it was a small tennis ball or something. Babylon limped to the side of the crater's edge, supported by his weapon and Ophelia.

"Don't think he'll die from such a small wound. Baal will survive. We must hurry to Zetta and Trenia while Baal is still occupied with having to slow himself down."

The Dragon Overlord said as fast as he could through each haggard breath.

"What good will that do if the entire universe is in danger? Besides, Trenia has charged me with the duty of protecting Zetta from Baal."

Salome said to him.

"There's been a change in the plan. We may all survive yet if all of you follow me without question. Trenia has already taken Zetta to the safest place she can for the time being. We must go there. Now."

Babylon spoke with urgency. Before anything else could be said, a familiar voice addressed Salome.

"Hey Salome, why is your Netherworld positioned differently? I almost teleported into the ocean! Where's you castle? What's up with that big crater behind you? That imposter must have done all this."

Everyone gaped in surprise to see Zetta floating before them.

"Zetta, your awake."

Salome breathed out a sigh of relief. Trenia came down soon after.

"Trenia, why did you come here?"

Babylon asked, eyes widening in further surprise from having first seeing Zetta.

"I'm very sorry, Babylon. Zetta woke up and surprised me and then just suddenly teleported here. I tried to catch up, but..."

The little girl was interrupted by laughter that was similar to Zetta's. Baal reappeared before them all, much of his skin matted with bits of charged black and clothes burned to tattered shreds.

"Trenia, it has been quite a while, and you've even brought me the prize I so desperately was seeking. Ha ha ha ha ha..."

The Legendary Overlord chuckled as he saw the little girl shrink back in fear when she realized who he really was and seeing her instinctively going towards Salome, as a child would to a mother.

"Baal..."

Trenia's voice was small and weak, and her knees shook violently. Everything felt hopeless to her now, for Baal now possessed the very body he had created for him. Zetta's soul was also right where the Legendary Overlord wanted it as well. Zetta was quite the opposite to Trenia, of course.

"Tch, Baal you bastard...and here I had thought I was so bad-ass I came around full circle. Give me back my magnificent body, you asshole! Your not me, your just an imposter masquerading in a grand possession that's not even your's to begin with."

The Overlord turned book said vehemently. Baal did not seem to hear him, however.

"Zetta, my precious son...finally, we meet again. And rightfully so! And rightfully it shall remain!"

Baal spoke with genuine happiness in his voice which seemed quite strange for a person such as himself. The wild fiery hair rose higher along with what remained of his cape as black fire swirled around him. Salome's Netherworld began to shake more and more with each pulse of power Baal displayed.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: Sorry for the long update. School has started up for me again, so updates will be very slow from now on unfortunately. Edited Chapter 15 a bit so it suited more of your tastes, Bella. Hopefully the story still continues to entertain readers at the very least, and hopefully the information in this chapter is making everything start to make sense more and more.


	17. Oracle Trenia Comes Clean

Strongest

Chapter 17: Oracle Trenia Comes Clean

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of character from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Salome's Netherworld, Massive Crater left behind from impact with Baal

:MK:CST:

"Son? What the hell are you talking about?"

Zetta asked, one eye perking up with disbelief.

"What? Did you not hear me from within your mind earlier? I stated that you were my creation. That you were created to serve my will as I saw fit. That I alone was the dictator of your own destiny."

Baal explained. Zetta tensed up.

"Yeah fucking right...stop spouting off about all that bull shit, Baal."

He said, though there was the faintest hint of uncertainty in his voice. He did feel a sort of familiarness with Baal, however. He tried to pass it off as himself being in the presence of his own original body. He knew deep down that wasn't the case. Somehow.

"Hmmm...so you still refuse to acknowledge your true self? Then why not ask someone your immediately familiar with for the truth? Such as little Trenia over there. She was at the very place to witness your first coming into existence after all. Right...Trenia?"

Baal said as he turned his gaze back to the little girl who was partially hidden by Salome's frame. All eyes went on her, save for Babylon and Ophelia's. Zetta's eyes focused the hardest on Trenia's deep blue eyes. She could not meet his gaze for long.

"Zetta...what Baal says is true. Your existence is not a normal one of a typical Demon. Baal wished for a body who's potential surpassed that of his original one. That's why you were created. To him, it was the destiny he branded upon you to become his new body. One that was more fitting for the destruction of entire universes, yet still retained Baal's original physical appearance. And so you were given the name -Zetta-."

Trenia began to explain. Zetta looked uneasy, perhaps sick.

"I...was wished for?"

Zetta muttered softly to himself as he digested the information that was already partially known to the others save for Baal, Babylon, Ophelia, and Trenia as they had known everything all along.

"My family guarded the Sacred Tome, the relic that was powerful enough to predict the future and grant wishes in exchange for a sum of Mana energy. Baal came to our planet alone during the cover of night and slaughtered many of my family members while escaping with the Sacred Tome. It becomes obvious afterwards as to how you came to be, Zetta."

She kept explaining, wanting to conclude and leave the explanations at that, but Baal wanted otherwise.

"Does it, Trenia? Why so reluctant to keep speaking? Why not tell him more of the events that lead to this very moment in time? So that he knows that it's your fault he's the Sacred Tome now. Though mind you, things have turned out far better thanks to your mistakes as far as I'm concerned. Ha ha ha..."

The Legendary Overlord chuckled as he saw Trenia's little fists clench tightly together at her sides. He could feel the anger and hatred she showed towards him, and it only further amused him as he knew there was nothing she could do to him physically. Her malice meant nothing. It was Zetta who spoke again afterwards to snap Trenia's attention away from Baal and back to him.

"Trenia, what the hell is he talking about? You...you had something to do with me becoming the Sacred Tome? I thought only Pram was involved...but you...!"

Zetta glared at the little girl, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl. Once again Trenia could not hold his gaze.

"I wasn't involved with Pram's scheme, but...I already knew about it and about how you would lose your body even before the event was going to occur. I've already told the others once before that I'm a psychic and could see the future, though I never asked to be that way, it was just what I was born with. Every female within my family line has the power to see into the future, and I was no exception."

She said to Zetta. The Overlord turned book started to develop a twitch in his left eye.

"You...already knew what was going to happen to me yet never spoke up about it even once? Do you realize how much trouble I could have been spared if you had met me and just told me that before I arrived on the moon that circles my Netherworld and went down to the Forbidden Library to look for the Sacred Tome? You little BITCH!"

Zetta growled out through clenched teeth. Baal smirked.

"She could have, but I suppose it would be hard for the former soul that was confined to the Sacred Tome to say that to someone she hardly trusted."

He said, baring his fangs when his smirk widened into a grin. There was a collection of surprised gasps from the younger generations of Overlords.

"Trenia is...the Sacred Tome? The soul that was confined to it before Zetta?"

Salome said.

"So that explains why she knew so much about it."

Pram murmured to herself. Baal's eyes flared up slightly.

"She was the one confined to it before Zetta, but it was someone else confined to it before when I made my wish. That woman...what a foolish waste of life she was."

Baal said softly as he glared at the night sky. Trenia's body stiffened.

"DON"T INSULT MY MOTHER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Everyone was surprised by Trenia's rage. For many, it was the first time they saw her get angry, let alone curse at someone. Baal's attention was brought back to her.

"Heh...tell me something I don't already know. Besides...I will insult her as much as I please without fear of reprimand because there is not a single thing you can do to harm me, little Trenia. Know your place, annoying insect, for you have no power worthy of my time. I could kill you at my leisure. In fact, you must be pondering at this very moment why I haven't killed you yet because of your interferences long ago when I was creating Zetta. Care to take a guess, or should I just answer you?"

The Legendary Overlord asked. Trenia remained silent, so Baal continued to speak.

"So you don't know...then I assume you didn't see far enough into the future to be able to realize it. I'll bet you were too concerned about what would happen to Zetta's soul rather than his body that you didn't use your powers to monitor it as it went towards my direction at the edge of the other universe that existed adjacent to this one. I'll bet you thought his body would simply hit the barrier and just remain there. The female side of your family line had the ability to peer into the future of any universe they desired until it met it's end, or so the rumors go. Yet no one ever did such a thing out of fear of knowing that far ahead. It makes me conclude that you were at fault for letting the body and soul you so badly wanted to protect from me actually get as close as it did in the first place. Had it been anyone else's body, the barrier would have blocked them out, but it was Zetta's...the exception. No matter how much Babylon may have altered this body, it still contained enough of my genetic code so that the Mana used to seal me away became confused and ultimately decide to do as it was programmed to do: take in anything that is remotely of some sort of relation to me. Zetta's body was brought into the adjacent universe where I lay in wait. I had been curious as to what it was that could pass into the barrier that sealed me, so I decided to investigate. When I came to his body and confined my soul into it, I then realized to whom this body really belonged to by sifting through the memories that lay upon the surface as well as the deep and dormant ones underneath. This body had the power I needed to surpass my original limits and break free from the barrier and leave with the Yoshitsuna. For that I thank you Trenia...for it was you who allowed me to reunite with my son after so long of having to remain idle in that sealed universe."

Baal explained, relishing in the look of shock that appeared on Trenia's face.

"No..."

The little girl could barely keep her balance. Salome put her arm around Trenia, supporting her.

"Trenia..."

The female Overlord rested Trenia gently on the ground.

"She's going into shock."

Ophelia observed. Babylon stepped forward towards Baal.

"So that's how you escaped the barrier."

The Dragon Overlord said. Baal's shoulders shook as he began to laugh.

"That's right! It was doomed to happen, even for someone such as herself. Even those who can peer into the future cannot be freed from making mistakes. If she let Zetta's soul be sacrificed, I'd have access to the Yoshitsuna's ultimate weapon and would have been able to destroy the barrier that way, but things turned out this way. How interesting."

Baal said after he was finished laughing at the unconscious Trenia. Babylon was beginning to get angry.

"Go ahead and laugh at Trenia's expense, but don't forget that you are prone to mistakes as well Baal. I'd even wager Zetta being awake at this moment was a result of one of your mistakes. Trenia said to me that you had put Zetta in a deep sleep."

Babylon mentioned. Baal sobered up.

"Yes...a strange side effect occurred when confining to this body: Whenever He was awake, I would be put to sleep, and whenever I was the one awake, he would be put to sleep. It was not a favorable trait, so I forced him to sleep using the very link that bound us as one. Yet he ran off and found the link and then severed it. With his soul completely severed from his body, there was nothing I could do. The ability to control Zetta was no longer an option. But why should I care so much about that? Zetta cannot hope to defeat me as he is now, Sacred Tome or not. You know this to be true, Babylon. Even if he rebels against me, I could simply end his life and have access to the complete power of the Yoshitsuna, or he could join me and allowing to wish every universe out of existence for all eternity. The scales are all tipped in my favor."

Baal said. Babylon narrowed his eyes. Zetta finally butted into the conversation.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not even here."

All attention went to him.

"Come on Baal...I'm tired of waiting around like this. Let's fight and get it over with."

Zetta said as he floated over towards the Legendary Overlord.

"Wait, Zetta..."

Salome called out to him, but he remained adamant, continuing towards Baal.

"Shut up! I don't need you holding me back anymore. Not you or any of the others! I'll become the most powerful Overlord by my own way...as I was suppose to. All this damn time being used by others, even as far back to my own damned birth...I'm sick of it. And what sickens me must be altered or eliminated. I'll take on Baal myself and kill him, and then I'll be the only one. The Strongest..."

Zetta boosted, even at such a perilous time as this day. Salome knew convincing him off the war path was not going to happen so easily, and she had no reason to make him think rationally about the situation he was in. In one day he had learned that his origins lay with a Demon only spoken about in myth, and that the whole life he currently knew and understood was nothing more than a lie. Baal had all the answers and could only fuel Zetta's anger that much more easily. It was Babylon who then blocked Zetta off.

"You'll be going to your own death by challenging Baal to combat, Zetta. Get out of here with the other Overlords and wake Trenia and have her take you all to a safe place while I hold him off."

The Dragon Overlord said. Zetta growled.

"Get out of my way, old man. Why don't you take them someplace safe? Oh wait...there is NO place that is safe, right? Stop wasting my time then and piss off."

He spoke with disdain towards Babylon. The Dragon Overlord sighed.

"Zetta...your still far too young to throw your life away, and for such a pointless cause."

The words did not sink in. Baal took advantage and struck Babylon in the back with the blunt of his sword, sending the Dragon Overlord into the crater.

"I have no control over your actions any longer, my son. It matters not, but I'll allow you to consider your options carefully. Join me and allow me to make my wish for all universes and life in them vanish forever, and you will live for a time. If you refuse me, then you must die here and now as I have dictated upon your life since you first came into being."

Baal offered. Zetta scowled.

"I'm not going to help you destroy anything. Universes aren't meant to be destroyed, they are meant to be conquered and exploited. I'll be the one ending your life and taking my body back. There's no way I'm losing to an imposter that easily!"

Zetta stated both angrily and arrogantly.

"So you wish to fight me and reclaim your body, eh? Very well, come then...show me the power within that book body of your's."

Baal said calmly. Babylon stood back up.

"Wait, Baal!"

The Dragon Overlord flew out of the crater, but was halted by a barrier. Baal's voice filtered into his head.

'Wait there like a good old Dragon, Babylon. Zetta has made his decision, so I won't allow even someone like you to break this protective spell of mine. Watch and enjoy...for I will be the one victorious!'

He told the Dragon Overlord through telepathy. Babylon growled furiously at himself for having lowered his guard which lead to his current predicament. He struck the barrier with the Last Impact, but the barrier held. Zetta was oblivious to the sound of impact, for the inside was sound proof. He confined his army to the battlefield while Baal did the same, confining a bunch of Prinnies on the scene. They were the only ones Baal would allow through the invisible shield. The war was beginning.

:ToBeContinued:

Note: This chapter is yet another informative one that focuses more about Baal's and Trenia's past together. It's not as good as I hoped and I know there's a lot OOCness going on(probably because it's rushed), but I don't have the time to edit it much right now. Hopefully later though.


End file.
